About CASTLE

The Center for Advancing Scholarship to Transform Learning is a network of faculty, projects and programs engaged in scholarship surrounding STEM education. Led by Director Scott Franklin, it is comprised of STEM faculty, research associates, instructional service professionals, and communication experts. Together they form a network of skilled individuals committed to the Center’s mission of advancing STEM teaching, learning and evaluation. Members work together on research and programs engaged in scholarship of pedagogy, facilitating dialog, encouraging collaborative opportunities in evidence-based practices, conducting discipline-based education research and establishing methods of assessment and evaluation.

CASTLE arose from the realization that existing collaborations would be enhanced by a formal structure that emphasized opportunities for synergies. The center's mission is to improve STEM education and outreach initiatives at RIT and foster collaboration between STEM educators and education researchers.

CASTLE is fostering interdisciplinary collaboration through the Interdisciplinary STEM Ed Research Forum (ISERF), STEM education research groups across campus that meet several times a year to share ideas and further common research goals.

CASTLE’s Bylaws

Discipline-based Education Research (DBER)

CASTLE Research conducts rigorous discipline-based education research on issues involving postsecondary student learning, and members have a track record of peer-reviewed publications and external funding.

Scholarship of Pedagogy

CASTLE supports faculty efforts on pedagogical (didactic) scholarship, evaluation and assessment, and fostering innovation in the classroom.

Educational Transformation

The Center promotes and fosters innovative curricula for national dissemination. The College hosts several model curricula, including: LivePhoto, interactive video vignettes, and Explorations in Physics. The Center will aggressively seek external funding for these projects.

K-20 Teacher Recruitment, Preparation and Professional Development

CASTLE takes an active role in preparing the next generation of STEM teachers through undergraduate and graduate student education. Activities include the RIT Learning Assistant program to recruit and prepare future secondary school teachers.

Education and Careers of Groups Historically Excluded from the STEM Disciplines

This includes collaborations with Women in Science (WISe), a CASTLE-affiliated program that seeks to engage women in the sciences and mathematics by offering information, equity and collaboration opportunities. The Center helps coordinate WISe activities, and supports efforts to secure external funding through foundations and local and national industries.

• Foster and grow a community engaged in rigorous, discipline-based STEM education research, providing infrastructure and opportunities for interdisciplinary communication and collaboration.
• Support scholarship of pedagogy and teaching & learning, including transformational STEM educational practices.
• Broaden participation in STEM through outreach, research and programmatic innovations.