WPI Learning Academy Programs: Cultivating Leaders and STEM Educators

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) offers a diverse range of learning academy programs designed to cultivate leadership skills, enhance STEM education, and support students in their academic journey. These programs cater to faculty, staff, and students, providing them with opportunities for professional development, advanced learning in STEM fields, and a smooth transition into college life.

The Leadership Academy: Developing Essential Leadership Skills

The Leadership Academy is a distinctive leadership development program aimed at helping employees expand and apply their skillsets for lasting impact. Launched in Spring 2023 with a cohort of 19 faculty and staff from across the university, this program focuses on teaching and practicing essential skills necessary for leading and inspiring others. The primary goal is to equip employees with the comprehensive knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for effective supervision and leadership.

This program is designed to provide participants with a transformative experience, fostering their ability to lead with confidence, inspire their teams, and contribute to the overall success of the university. By focusing on practical application and skill-building, the Leadership Academy empowers WPI employees to become effective leaders in their respective roles.

STEM for Educators Programs: Advancing STEM Education

WPI's STEM for Educators program offers a range of graduate-level programs designed specifically for middle school, high school, and community college in-service educators. These programs emphasize coursework in the content area (math or physics) along with classes in core assessment and evaluation theory, and a participant-designed project. The programs may satisfy Massachusetts Professional Licensure requirements for middle and high school educators.

Several programs fall under the STEM for Educators umbrella:

Master of Mathematics for Educators (MME)

This program is designed primarily for secondary school mathematics teachers, though middle school and community college instructors have also completed it. Classes are offered on campus, live via the Internet, and asynchronously, providing flexibility for working educators. Courses offer a solid foundation in areas such as geometry, algebra, differential equations, modeling, number theory, discrete mathematics, and statistics, while also including many unique, modern applications. A key component of the program is the development of materials, based on coursework, which may be used in their own classes. J. Goulet, a Teaching Professor and Coordinator of the program, brings expertise in applications of linear algebra, cross-departmental course development, project development, K-12 relations with colleges, and the mathematics of digital and analog sound and music.

Master of Science in Physics for Educators

The physics content courses are designed to give educators a deep but applicable understanding of physics that both make advanced physics topics easily accessible to educators and appropriate to their roles of guiding their students. The physics content is organized into three parts: Depth (e.g. Mechanics and Topics in Modern Physics), Methods (e.g. Computational and Experimental Physics Methods), and Breadth (e.g. Research Experience for Educators and Physics in Popular Culture). Support for degree candidates extends beyond the specific coursework and projects as participants will become part of a network of physicists which ranges from local individuals to a much broader community. I. Stroe, Associate Professor of Teaching and Director of the Master of Science in Physics for Educators, contributes expertise in experimental biophysics, protein structure, dynamics and functionality. Other faculty members involved in the program include G. S. Iannacchione, Professor with expertise in soft condensed matter physics/complex fluids, liquid-crystals, calorimetry, and order-disorder phenomena; R. P. Kafle, Associate Professor of Teaching specializing in active learning, multimedia pedagogy, and Physics Education Research; H. Kashuri, Associate Teaching Professor with a focus on experimental liquid crystal physics and microscopy; T. Noviello, Instructor with expertise in Physics Education Research; and D. T. Petkie, Department Head and Professor specializing in Millimeter-wave and Terahertz sensing, spectroscopy, electromagnetic scattering and propagation, photonics, optics and imaging.

M.S. in Integrated STEM Education

The Master of Science in Integrated STEM Education couples WPI's strengths in theory & practice with innovative models for teaching STEM through project-based learning (PBL). The program provides candidates with the knowledge and skills for the myriad applications of transdisciplinary STEM Education in different educational contexts. This program is designed for practicing PK-12 educators who are looking to advance their knowledge while having practical components to immediately use in their classroom or educational setting. Individuals enrolled in this program could pursue this degree synchronously online. All STEM education courses can be completed online synchronously, and a subset of elective courses can be taken either in person or online. The program director will provide guidance to determine which courses are offered fully online. K.C. Chen, Executive Director of the Faculty STEM Education Center, brings expertise in engineering education, PreK-12 STEM education, materials science, community-based learning, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to the program. M. Dubosarsky, Director of Professional Development, contributes expertise in Science & STEM Education, Curriculum and Instruction, Assessment in Science Education, Education Research, Cooperative Learning Pedagogy, and Problem-based Learning.

Admission Requirements for STEM for Educators Programs

Candidates for any major in the STEM for Educators programs must have a Bachelor’s degree, a background equivalent to at least a minor in one of the STEM areas of interest, and either a teacher certification in a STEM field or a full-time teaching position in one of these disciplines.

Morgan Teaching & Learning Center: Fostering Inclusive Pedagogy

The Morgan Teaching & Learning Center, in collaboration with the Instructional Design team, supports faculty in enhancing their teaching practices. One key initiative is the Morgan Pedagogy Champions program, which is continuing for the academic year 2025-2026. All faculty may express interest, including those who served in prior years.

The program focuses on promoting inclusive learning environments by addressing issues such as the "metacognitive equity gap." Metacognition, or thinking about one's own thinking, is a crucial skill for academic success. The program aims to equip faculty with strategies for teaching metacognitive skills, such as modeling thinking processes, incorporating reflective writing, and asking students to evaluate their study approaches.

Pedagogy Champions participate in a cohort Community of Practice (CoP) introductory meeting, review the action plan provided by facilitator for their departmental workshop/intervention, promote the scheduled workshop within their department in collaboration with department/program leadership, co-facilitate or support the departmental workshop and serve as a resource to the department on the workshop content as needed and connect colleagues with Morgan Center/Instructional Design partners to design and implement inclusive pedagogy into their courses as needed. In addition, champions have the option to work with support staff to consider opportunities for using this work as a foundation for educational research/SoTL efforts and/or improving their own teaching practices.

New Student Orientation and Transition Programs: Supporting Student Success

WPI provides comprehensive support for new students through orientation and transition programs designed to ease their entry into college life.

New Student Orientation

During the week prior to classes, the Student Activities Office and the Office of Academic Advising coordinate a comprehensive new student orientation program for all first-year and transfer students. New student orientation provides an introduction to the WPI experience, ranging from academic work and expectations and project- based education, to student life and campus activities.

Insight Program

Beginning with New Student Orientation and continuing through the first semester, incoming first year and transfer students are assigned to an Insight Team, a group of students and advisors dedicated to assisting with the transition to college.

Connections Pre-Orientation Program

The Connections Pre-Orientation is a week-long residential bridge program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) held in August prior to New Student Orientation (NSO) and the Insight Program. The Connections Academic Immersion Experience allows new students to have a jump start and introduction to the WPI course structure (in a low stakes environment), an opportunity to meet WPI faculty, and form relationships with peers while learning college study skills and helpful methods for navigating through WPI. Participants who choose to take a summer course in E-Term will also have the opportunity to attend workshops in the Fall semester (A-Term and B-Term) which build upon the experiences and skillsets students bring to WPI and cover additional topics such as faculty and staff mentoring, major exploration, and guidance on course selection. The Connections Pre-Orientation Program is offered at no cost to pre-registered eligible first-year WPI students.

Discovering Majors and Careers

Discovering Majors and Careers is a class for first year students undecided about academic majors. This 1/12 unit course can be taken on top of a regular course load.

Great Problems Seminars

This is a two course sequence designed to serve as an introduction to project work and university level research with a focus on themes of global importance. Each seminar has at its core an important problem. Students explore the complexity of our global issues, and demonstrate their ability to solve some aspect of the big problem. Examples: In Food Sustainability, students and faculty focus on issues surrounding food: nutrition, production, economics, and policy issues. In Power the World, the production, distribution and use of all forms of energy and associated ethical issues are reviewed. Themes will change from year to year.

tags: #WPI #Learning #Academy #programs