Improving undergraduate science and engineering education for all students is a national imperative.  Globally we face profound challenges to provide adequate resources to a growing human population in the face of climate change, pollution, and loss of biodiversity that can be addressed, in part, by scientists, engineers and a scientifically literate society.

A shortage of STEM workers is predicted in the coming decade and improving retention of undergraduate STEM majors through improved STEM education in the first two years of college is a solution called out in the PCAST report.

This presentation will explore the nascent field of discipline-based education research, what is known about improving students’ problem solving skills and conceptual understanding in science and engineering through more effective teaching, and unpack the challenges to widespread uptake of these practices.