The  POGIL Project Strategic Plan

Approved September 1, 2023

Preamble

Through its prior two strategic plans (2013 and 2018), The POGIL Project set priorities for Project leadership, staff, members of the POGIL community, and those who are or will become interested in the work of The Project. We deepened our commitment to grow and support the POGIL practitioner community; reached out to new populations of educators; increased the availability of high-quality POGIL activities grounded in guided inquiry and process skill development; increased the diversity and inclusivity of The Project; began focusing on gathering data to provide assessment of student learning; and began developing plans to sustain and grow The Project.

Within a rapidly evolving educational landscape, we recognize the need to renew our efforts to accomplish our mission of improving teaching and learning by fostering an inclusive community of reflective educators who design, implement, assess, and study learner-centered environments. This third iteration of The Project’s strategic plan, developed under the direction of the Steering Committee and with the input of the greater POGIL community, is intended to carry The Project through the next five years. This plan lays out our community’s shared goals to ensure The Project remains at the forefront of educational reform and innovation, prepares learners to contribute and succeed in a complex world, and nurtures a thriving Community of Transformation.[1]

We approach this next strategic plan with the understanding that the following principles must permeate all the work we do as a Project and address the three main areas in which we wish to focus our efforts over the course of the next five years:

Goals pertaining to learners.

Goals pertaining to practitioners.

Goals pertaining to our organization.

These goals provide direction to The Project, and serve as an invitation to our community to forge an ambitious future. Together, we will build on our considerable strengths, and achieve our vision of an educational system that prepares every learner to enrich the world by thinking critically, solving problems, working effectively with others, and experiencing the joy of discovery.

[1] Communities of Transformation and Their Work Scaling STEM Reform, Adrianna Kezar and Sean Gehrke (2015).

The Plan

(For more detail on outcomes related to each subgoal, click HERE.)

Goal 1: Pertaining to Learners:

Expand access to student-centered, process-rich learning for an increasingly diverse range of learners.

1A: Increase the number of students using POGIL activities in their classes and laboratories.

1B: Expand the range of disciplines in which approved POGIL activities are available to learners.

1C: Increase the accessibility of POGIL activities for an expanding range of learners and learning environments.

1D: Develop new approaches for delivering POGIL materials to increase their availability to learners.

1E: Develop classroom resources and implementation strategies to support learner success.

Goal 2: Pertaining to Practitioners:

Expand and support a vibrant, inclusive, and diverse POGIL practitioner community that promotes student-centered, process-rich learning.

2A: Generate and facilitate a wide range of professional development opportunities for practitioners with all levels of experience.

2B: Identify and remove barriers that impede participation in professional development experiences.

2C: Increase participation by practitioners from historically marginalized groups or those who work with historically marginalized learner populations.

2D: Develop and implement processes to obtain evidence for the impact and effectiveness of POGIL professional development opportunities.

2E: Develop flexible strategies and tools to support practitioners adopting and implementing POGIL in classes with large numbers of students.

2F: Expand networking and community-building opportunities that support practitioners and enhance the vibrancy of the community.

Goal 3: Pertaining to Our Organization:

Expand the efforts and community of The POGIL Project in ways that ensure equity, inclusivity, and organizational sustainability.

3A: Implement mechanisms to identify and reduce systemic barriers within our community to learning, teaching, scholarship, and participation.

3B: Expand research protocols and studies to investigate the impact and effectiveness of POGIL implementations at secondary and post-secondary levels to support external funding opportunities and improve and inform our practice.

3C: Develop and implement a broad fundraising and partnership strategy that will diversify and increase our revenue streams.

3D: Prepare new marketing strategies and corresponding implementation support to promote comprehensive POGIL adoptions across units such as departments, schools, and districts. 

3E: Develop and implement professional development experiences for new audiences in and beyond academia.

3F: Form productive, synergistic partnerships with other organizations whose missions and visions complement those of The POGIL Project.