Video of Dr. Philip “Uri” Treisman’s Plenary Speech at the STEP 2013 Annual Meeting
Title: Innovation as Ornament and the Challenge of Improvement at Scale
Abstract: Compelling economic forecasts indicate that our country will need to produce, over the next decade, one million more college graduates in STEM fields than would be expected at current rates. Fortunately, everywhere and all the time armies of responsible faculty members and administrators are working to improve their undergraduate programs with the goal of increasing the number and diversity of STEM graduates. Many of these academics recognize that the health of their disciplines depends on developing a next generation of STEM professionals that represents the full diversity of our society. Yet progress is disappointedly slow–despite the enormous energy expended on the task. How might we proceed differently so that necessary change occurs at scale? And, what new arrangements must be created to allow those working at different levels of the educational system to collaborate on meeting national and disciplinary goals? These questions and suggested answers are the heart of the talk.