UW–Madison Team Honored for Course in Multi-Institution Project Advancing Inclusive Teaching for Nation’s STEM Faculty

Team leader Don Gillian-Daniel says the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) fills "undeniable need" in higher ed classrooms

September 16, 2025   |   By Karen Rivedal, Office of Research & Scholarship

University of Wisconsin–Madison researcher Don Gillian-Daniel led a team that was nationally recognized this summer for creating a path-breaking online course credited with advancing inclusive teaching practices for some 5,000 faculty members in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields across the country.

The course was offered for eight consecutive semesters through fall 2025 as a central part of the multi-institution, National Science Foundation-funded Inclusive STEM Teaching Project, which earned the 2025 Stanley C. Israel Award for Advancing Diversity in the Chemical Sciences in June from the American Chemical Society. Each awardee received a medal and a $1,000 grant for further research advancing diversity in the chemical sciences.

“There has long been an undeniable need for more inclusive learning environments in higher education,” said Gillian-Daniel, who had a joint appointment in the College of Engineering and the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) in the School of Education during the project. “Due in part to alienating classroom climates and instruction that marginalizes participants, historically excluded and minoritized students leave STEM majors and careers in STEM at significantly higher rates than majority students.”

Benefiting an estimated one million undergraduates, including many from marginalized backgrounds, annually since 2021 through improved teaching practices, the free class consists of six linked modules targeted mainly to early-career STEM instructors. Chemistry instructors made up nearly 25% of class completers, with around 1,400 faculty participants benefiting from the program and potentially enhancing STEM instruction for tens of thousands of undergraduate chemistry students.

"This truly was a collaborative effort, from my research team of Lucas Hill, Robin Greenler, Evangeline Su, and Lisa Jong,” Gillian-Daniel said, “to the professional staff at WCER who handled budget, editing, application assembly and submission, and administrative and compliance review. The proposal wouldn’t have been possible without that support.”

The type of course developed for the project is known as a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). Designed to accommodate vast numbers of online learners, a MOOC allows instructors to provide high-quality educational experiences—often including lectures, readings, tests, and discussion forums—at scale and open to anyone with an internet connection, often at no cost to enrollees.

The MOOC developed for the Inclusive STEM Teaching Project is designed to advance the awareness, self-efficacy, and ability of STEM educators, including faculty, postdoctoral

researchers, graduate students, and staff, to cultivate inclusive learning environments for their students and to develop themselves as reflective, inclusive practitioners.

Since 2021, the course has attracted over 13,000 registrants and achieved a course completion rate of 46%, significantly higher than the 15% average for free online offerings.

The MOOC for the Inclusive STEM Teaching Project was unique in being offered at scheduled times, with local institutional learning communities led by project-trained facilitators at more than 150 colleges, universities and other institutions. It also uniquely offered synchronous affinity group discussions, weekly reflections in a My Inclusivity Framework guidebook, and embodied case studies that leveraged the work of the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching Players at the University of Michigan.

Research conducted as part of the project demonstrates that the course significantly shifts educator perspectives, increasing identity awareness, empathy for students, and confidence in inclusive teaching practices. The course will continue to be available to institutions through local independent courses run on the edX Edge platform.

Partner institutions in the Inclusive STEM Teaching Project are the University of Michigan, University of Utah, Boston University, University of Georgia, Northwestern University, and Des Moines Area Community College. UW–Madison received $562,184 in NSF funding for its portion of the project, part of an overall project award of $2,792,290.

At WCER, Gillian-Daniel is a research affiliate and assistant director of Wisconsin’s Equity & Inclusion Laboratory (Wei LAB). For the College of Engineering, he works as the Distinguished Director of Professional Development for the Office of Inclusive Excellence and Educational Innovation. In 2024, Gillian-Daniel earned the rare campus honor of Distinguished status, created to recognize academic staff who have made remarkable contributions to their profession, with extensive experience, advanced skills/knowledge, and a reputation beyond their own school, college or division. Gillian-Daniel was recognized for his pioneering embrace and tireless support of equity and excellence in STEM teaching and learning, both within and far beyond the university's boundaries.

Team members Hill and Su lead WCER’s SEER Institute as director and program manager, respectively. Greenler is assistant director of the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning at WCER. Jong is a senior developer for the Center for Teaching, Learning & Mentoring at UW–Madison.

About Wei LAB

Established in 2010, Wei LAB is an international leader in research conceptually rooted in frameworks of equity and inclusion, focused on pathways to and experiences in the workforce. Wei LAB’s work included projects that examine topics such as African American success, LGBTQIA+ climate, STEM, and educational opportunities for minoritized students. Through original research, surveys, and interviews, we gather data on diversity and inclusion and provide recommendations to improve institutional practices. For more information about Wei LAB, visit weilab.wceruw.org.

About the Wisconsin Center for Education Research

The Wisconsin Center for Education Research at UW–Madison’s #1 ranked public School of Education is one of the first and most productive education research centers in the world. It has assisted scholars and practitioners in developing, submitting, conducting and sharing grant-funded education research for over 60 years.

WCER’s mission is to improve educational outcomes for diverse student populations, positively impact education practice and foster collaborations among academic disciplines and practitioners. Learn more at wcer.wisc.edu.