Guided by Evidence: Changing the disciplinary culture of teaching and learning

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

Evidence is mounting that students who are actively engaged in constructing knowledge achieve deeper conceptual understanding and more durable learning. Gateway Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses that utilize active learning have higher pass rates, which could ultimately lead to greater persistence of students on STEM career trajectories. Thus, the wider adoption of these active learning approaches is key to maintaining our scientific research enterprise and cultivating a diverse, scientifically literate workforce. This study will use the Characteristics of Dissemination Success (CODS) model as a theoretical framework for changing the culture of teaching and learning in the biological sciences at the University of Maryland. Through engagement in a faculty learning community, instructors within the first four courses in the biological sciences curriculum will (1) develop progressive learning activities that employ evidence-based teaching approaches, then implement these in a coordinated fashion; (2) gather evidence for the effectiveness of their use of these approaches via an iterative process of monitoring student learning, then using this feedback to refine instructional activities; and (3) implement strategies that help students recognize evidence of their learning, to gain student buy-in for approaches that require greater effort and engagement. The success of the CODS model in fostering broader changes to the culture of teaching will be evaluated using a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches. This project aims to shift the culture of STEM course redesign from a solitary endeavor to a communal (and therefore sustainable) effort. It will foster new opportunities for interaction between like-minded colleagues in different STEM departments, creating a cadre of faculty dedicated to education reform. The project will also help a very diverse UMD student population, many of whom will become STEM professionals or K-12 science teachers, to develop metacognitive skills that enhance learning.