Mission and History

The STEM Faculty Institute (STEMFI) at Brigham Young University is an NSF-funded grant that provides an intensive training experience on student-centered teaching strategies for faculty members from the colleges of Life Sciences, Physical and Mathematical Sciences, and Engineering and Technology.

During the summer of 2018, the STEMFI Summer Workshop provided intense training and practice of learning theory and student-centered teaching for the first cohort of participants. Then in the Fall and Winter semesters of 2018-2019, these participants implemented new student-centered strategies into their courses with peer mentoring observations and counseling. Peer mentors and participants met monthly to counsel and problem solve. In addition, cohort and STEMFI faculty met monthly to share insights and new instruction.

The second cohort of participants began their training in May of 2019 during the STEMFI Summer Workshop. With the participants from the previous cohort as peer mentors, cohort 2 implemented new strategies into their courses during the 2019-2020 school year. Again, peer mentors, participants, and STEMFI faculty met regularly.

In May of 2021, the third cohort of participants began their training at STEMFI. Again, peer mentors were selected from the second cohort of participants. This final group of professors met with peer mentors and STEMFI faculty regularly as they formed courses based on principles gained through the institute.

STEMFI received funding for permanence in the Spring of 2022. Housed in BYU’s Center for Teaching and Learning, STEMFI continues to support BYU faculty in their quest to transform classrooms to environments of student-centered learning.