Volume 22, Issue 1
January 7, 2021
ISSN 1099-839X
Shaping the Futures of Learning in the Digital Age
Helping STEM Students Thrive: Adult Learning Pathways
Patrice Torcivia Prusko, MBA, PhD
Teaching and Learning Lab
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Abstract: Surrounded by stories of underrepresented and first-generation students lagging behind
or switching out of STEM majors, three women saw an opportunity to shift the narrative. They
created a new online speaker series, The Next 10 Years: Helping STEM Students Thrive; where
faculty, staff, and students could share ideas, learn from one another, and build a community.
They were all members of the Women in STEM Cooperative, which consists of a group of
volunteers who are dedicated to advancing women in STEM in their respective communities. It
is now in its third season with participants from 56 institutions, eight organizations, four
countries, and 23 states.
Keywords: STEM, women, equity, thrive
Citation: Prusko, P. T. (2021). Helping STEM students thrive: Adult learning pathways. Current
Issues in Education, 22(1). Retrieved from
http://cie.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/cieatasu/article/view/1934 This submission is part of a special
issue, Shaping the Futures of Learning in the Digital Age, guest-edited by Sean Leahy, Samantha
Becker, Ben Scragg, and Kim Flintoff.
Accepted: 11/2/2020
Helping STEM Students Thrive: Adult Learning Pathways
Surrounded by stories of underrepresented and first-generation students lagging behind or
switching out of STEM majors, three women saw an opportunity to shift the narrative. They
created a new online speaker series, The Next 10 Years: Helping STEM Students Thrive; where
faculty, staff, and students could share ideas, learn from one another, and build a community.
Current Issues in Education, 22(1)
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Reinking: Innovatively Preparing the Teacher Workforce
They were all members of the Women in STEM Cooperative, which consists of a group of
volunteers who are dedicated to advancing women in STEM in their respective communities.
They created this series as an attempt to address some of the systemic challenges faced by
students in STEM, and highlighted opportunities for improving student success. In addition to
sharing knowledge, one of the goals for this series was to provide a space where students and
guest speakers could interact with one another, as well as share challenges and successes that
would ultimately build a community where, together, everyone could contribute to and
perpetuate stories of STEM students thriving.
The women quickly learned that there was a global desire to better understand how we
can help STEM students thrive when 140 people from 56 institutions, eight organizations, four
countries, and 23 states registered for this event. Institutions spanned 4-year colleges, community
colleges, k-12, and the private sector. They included: Paris Ile-de-France Digital University,
Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Greenfield Community College, Harvard, Penn State,
University of Wisconsin Madison, Union College, Schreiner University, Cornell, University at
Buffalo, and the Society of Nuclear Medicine, to name a few.
The first in the series aired on October 11, 2017 featuring Dr. Lynne Molter, Dr. Julia
Thom-Levy, Dr. Elisabeth Etopio and Dr. Richard Lamb, discussing trends and innovation in
higher ed. Season One covered topics related to teaching and learning, and Season Two covered
topics surrounding the STEM environment and how we might reimagine it in ways that impart a
sense of belonging to women in the field. Guests and specific topics are listed in Appendix 1.
The series is currently led by four women in institutions in the Northeast. They just
kicked off Season Three, Helping STEM Students Thrive: Adult Learning Pathways, which
focuses on shifts in student demographics and how that intersects with women’s experiences in
different educational environments, such as community college, online schooling, undergraduate
and graduate school, and alternative forms of education. This season, in addition to guests
sharing their research and discussing programs they are leading, we are including the authentic,
personal stories of women. The first session took place on Oct. 23, focusing on community
college, with Bilge Avci, Economist Working on Social Justice Issues and Policies Impacting
Disadvantaged Communities, and Dina Refki, Executive Director, Center for Women in
Government and Society, Rockefeller College, SUNY Albany, sharing their research, and
Ashley Stenel, PhD student, Roswell Park-Cancer Sciences sharing her journey from single
mother attending community college to her PhD.
Each session begins with an introduction by our distinguished thought leaders, followed
by institutional representatives who share insights from their campuses. Participants may join
the conversation, ask questions, share experiences, build networks, and learn more about:
• Innovations that can expand female or underrepresented minority student
participation and success in STEM undergraduate education,
• Effective evidence-based STEM teaching practices commonly adopted at
research universities,
• Unique institutional and cultural challenges to achieving STEM diversity,
• What “difference at scale” looks like.
The author’s research was on nontraditional women returning to school to study STEM.
Each woman in her study initially pursued STEM, but, lacking a support system and meaningful
goals, did not persist. Later in life, they arrived at a “tipping point” where all the pieces were
Current Issues in Education, 22(1)
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finally in harmony, rekindling their motivation to return to school to complete a STEM degree.
Each of these women experienced a “critical event” that enabled them to see how a STEM
degree could empower them to achieve personally meaningful goals. Additionally, they now had
guidance from a mentor and, crucially, a support system in place. It was these transformations
that initially motivated the author to start this series, in hopes that it could be a “tipping point”
for other women. It begs the question: How might we use technology to connect women across
the globe?
If you are interested in speaking or being added to our List-Serv please contact the
coordinators of this effort. Please go here to view recordings from 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-
20.
Appendix 1
Season One covered topics related to teaching and learning:
Higher Education Trends
● Lynne A. Molter, ScD, Swarthmore College, Professor of Engineering,
Consortium for STEM Success
● Julia Thom Levy, PhD, Cornell University, Professor and Vice Provost for
Academic Innovation
● Elisabeth Etopio, PhD, University at Buffalo, Interim Assistant Dean for
Teacher Education, Interim Director of the Teacher Education Institute
● Richard Lamb, PhD, University at Buffalo, Associate Professor and Director of
the Neurocognition Science Laboratory
Learning Spaces
● Jeanne L. Narum, Learning Spaces Collaboratory
● Rebecca Rotundo, MA, University at Buffalo, Instructional Technology
Specialist at the Center for Educational Innovation
● Lisa Stephens, PhD, Office of the SUNY Provost, Sr. Strategist- SUNY
Academic Innovation
● Xin Li, PhD, Cornell University, Associate University Librarian
Institutional Practices
● Nancy Shapiro, PhD, University System of Maryland, Associate Vice
Chancellor for Education and Outreach and Special Assistant to the Chancellor
● Renetta Tull, PhD, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Associate Vice
Provost for Strategic Initiatives at the University of Maryland, Baltimore
County (UMBC), and Founding Director/Co-PI for the 12-institution
University System of Maryland’s (USM) PROMISE AGEP, and Co-
Director/Co-PI for the USM’s Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation
(LSAMP)
● Letitia Thomas, PhD, University at Buffalo, Director of STEM Diversity
Programs
● Amy Godert, PhD, Cornell University, Executive Director Academic Success
Programs
Introductory Undergraduate Courses in STEM
● Jay Labov, PhD, National Research Council, Senior Advisor for Education and
Communication, National Academies of Sciences
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● Catherine Middlecamp, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Professor in
the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
● Liesl Folks, PhD, MBA, University at Buffalo, Dean of the School of
Engineering and Applied Sciences and a professor of electrical engineering
● Michael Fontaine, PhD, Cornell University, Professor and Associate Vice
Provost of Undergraduate Education
Season Two covered topics looked at the STEM environment and how we might reimagine it in
ways that women can have a sense of belonging.
Sexual Harassment in STEM /Sexual Harassment Report from National Academies
● Alexis Stokes, Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, Harvard John A. Paulson
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
● Sharon Nolan Weiss, Director, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, University at Buffalo
● Irene Ngun, Associate Program Officer with Committee on Women in Science,
Engineering, and Medicine (CWSEM), a standing committee of the National Academies
Course Design for Inclusion in STEM
● Roberta Sullivan, Emerging Technologies Librarian and Head of Media Services,
University at Buffalo
● Martin Samuels, Harvard University
● Thomas Tobin, Program Area Director—Distance Teaching & Learning, University of
Wisconsin at Madison
Mentoring Women in STEM
● Bryan Dewsbury, Assistant Professor, University of Rhode Island
● Letitia Thomas, Assistant Dean for Diversity, School of Engineering and Applied
Sciences; School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University at Buffalo
● Florence Hudson, Founder & CEO of FDHint, LLC
● Lisa Utzinger Shen, Doctoral Student, Harvard Graduate School of Education
The Current State of Women in STEM: What the Research Says
● Mia Ong, TERC
● Liesl Folks, Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University at
Buffalo
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Author Notes
Patrice Torcivia Prusko, MBA, PhD
Teaching and Learning Lab, Harvard Graduate School of Education
patrice_torcivia@gse.harvard.edu
Guest Editor Notes
Sean M. Leahy, PhD
Arizona State University, Director of Technology Initiatives
sean.m.leahy@asu.edu
Samantha Adams Becker
Arizona State University, Executive Director, Creative & Communications, University
Technology Office; Community Director, ShapingEDU
sam.becker@asu.edu
Ben Scragg, MA, MBA
Arizona State University, Director of Design Initiatives
bscragg@asu.edu
Kim Flintoff
Peter Carnley ACS, TIDES Coordinator
kflintoff@pcacs.wa.edu.au
Current Issues in Education, 22(1)
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Volume 22, Issue 1
January 7, 2021
ISSN 1099-839X
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Editorial Team
Consulting Editor
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Lead Editor
Marina Basu
Section Editors
L&I – Renee Bhatti-Klug
LLT – Anani Vasquez
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Review Board
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Current Issues in Education, 22(1)
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