“A Timely Report on STEM Education from the National Academy of Science” (Thomas Holme, Journal of Chemical Education, 2025)

Many instructors in the sciences are working hard to make their courses more inclusive and effective. This editorial synthesizes a recent National Academy of Science report, Transforming Undergraduate STEM Education: Supporting Equitable and Effective Teaching, which distills decades of research on how students learn in college STEM courses. The report offers seven guiding principles that describe what strong undergraduate STEM teaching looks like when it is both equitable and effective. It emphasizes that improving teaching is not only about adding more active techniques. It is about designing courses that deliberately support a wide range of learners and make disciplinary thinking more transparent. 

The principles highlight that students need frequent, structured opportunities to actively work with core ideas, not just listen to explanations or watch demonstrations. Effective courses build on students’ prior knowledge and experiences, connect learning to meaningful goals, and recognize that motivation, belonging, and emotion shape how students engage with material. Other principles call for coherent learning experiences across a course, consistent use of evidence about how students are doing, and structures that support equitable participation and outcomes. The final principle centers on intentionality, urging instructors to explain the rationale for course structures, assessments, and classroom norms so that students understand how everything fits together. 

Holme notes that few individuals or departments will be able to act on all seven principles at once. Instead, he frames the report as a roadmap that can help departments, programs, and instructors identify realistic entry points for change. For example, an instructor might begin by revising one unit to include more structured group work tied to explicit learning goals, while a department might examine whether its assessment practices align with the kinds of thinking it values. The editorial invites chemistry educators, and STEM faculty more broadly, to use the principles as a shared reference point for continuous improvement in teaching. It encourages readers to consult the full report for detailed examples, case studies, and tools that can guide local efforts. 

Practical Strategies and Reflective Questions for Instructors

Choose one principle as a starting point

• Review the seven principles and identify one that aligns with a change you are already considering, such as increasing active engagement or clarifying expectations.

Reflect: Which principle best matches a current teaching challenge, and what is one small change I could try in the next offering of my course?

Make the purpose of activities explicit

• Connect in-class tasks, homework, and assessments to specific learning goals so that students see how each activity supports their progress in the discipline.

Reflect: If a student asked why we are doing a particular activity, could I explain clearly how it supports a concrete learning outcome or way of thinking? 

Elicit and use students’ prior knowledge

• Use short prompts, polls, or diagnostics to uncover what students already know and where misconceptions may lie, then reference their ideas as you introduce new content.

Reflect: How do I currently find out what students bring to a topic, and how might I use that information to adjust my examples, explanations, or practice problems? 

Attend to the social and emotional climate

• Establish norms and structures that promote respect, inclusion, and productive struggle, such as clear expectations for group work and opportunities for low-stakes practice.

Reflect: Do my policies, interaction norms, and feedback practices help students feel that they belong and can learn from mistakes, or might some students experience them as discouraging? 

Use evidence to guide iterative improvement

• Collect and interpret information about how students are learning and experiencing the course, then use those data to refine design and instruction over time.

Reflect: What evidence about student learning and experience do I already have, and how often do I let it influence concrete decisions about my course?