Undergraduate science reform should address teaching practices

How Is Science Being Taught? Measuring Evidence-Based Teaching Practices across Undergraduate Science Departments

CBE—Life Sciences Education ◽

10.1187/cbe.15-12-0261 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. ar18 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Michael J. Drinkwater ◽

Kelly E. Matthews ◽

Jacob Seiler

Keyword(s):

Teaching Practices ◽

Science Curriculum ◽

Degree Program ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Learning Approaches ◽

Bachelor Of Science ◽

Curriculum Review ◽

Science Degree ◽

Institutional Contexts ◽

Undergraduate Science

While there is a wealth of research evidencing the benefits of active-learning approaches, the extent to which these teaching practices are adopted in the sciences is not well known. The aim of this study is to establish an evidential baseline of teaching practices across a bachelor of science degree program at a large research-intensive Australian university. Our purpose is to contribute to knowledge on the adoption levels of evidence-based teaching practices by faculty within a science degree program and inform our science curriculum review in practical terms. We used the Teaching Practices Inventory (TPI) to measure the use of evidence-based teaching approaches in 129 courses (units of study) across 13 departments. We compared the results with those from a Canadian institution to identify areas in need of improvement at our institution. We applied a regression analysis to the data and found that the adoption of evidence-based teaching practices differs by discipline and is higher in first-year classes at our institution. The study demonstrates that the TPI can be used in different institutional contexts and provides data that can inform practice and policy.

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Measurement Instrument for Scientific Teaching (MIST): A Tool to Measure the Frequencies of Research-Based Teaching Practices in Undergraduate Science Courses

CBE—Life Sciences Education ◽

10.1187/cbe.17-02-0033 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. ar67 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Mary F. Durham ◽

Jennifer K. Knight ◽

Brian A. Couch

Keyword(s):

Student Performance ◽

Teaching Practices ◽

Measurement Instrument ◽

Short Version ◽

Validity And Reliability ◽

Science Courses ◽

Scientific Teaching ◽

Science Instructors ◽

Undergraduate Science ◽

The Impact

The Scientific Teaching (ST) pedagogical framework provides various approaches for science instructors to teach in a way that more closely emulates how science is practiced by actively and inclusively engaging students in their own learning and by making instructional decisions based on student performance data. Fully understanding the impact of ST requires having mechanisms to quantify its implementation. While many useful instruments exist to document teaching practices, these instruments only partially align with the range of practices specified by ST, as described in a recently published taxonomy. Here, we describe the development, validation, and implementation of the Measurement Instrument for Scientific Teaching (MIST), a survey derived from the ST taxonomy and designed to gauge the frequencies of ST practices in undergraduate science courses. MIST showed acceptable validity and reliability based on results from 7767 students in 87 courses at nine institutions. We used factor analyses to identify eight subcategories of ST practices and used these categories to develop a short version of the instrument amenable to joint administration with other research instruments. We further discuss how MIST can be used by instructors, departments, researchers, and professional development programs to quantify and track changes in ST practices.

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Innovative teaching knowledge stays with users

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2012372117 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 117 (37) ◽

pp. 22665-22667 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A. Kelly Lane ◽

Jacob D. McAlpin ◽

Brittnee Earl ◽

Stephanie Feola ◽

Jennifer E. Lewis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Teaching Practices ◽

Innovative Teaching ◽

Mathematics Courses ◽

Teaching Knowledge ◽

Network Analyses ◽

Science Technology ◽

Interview Survey ◽

And Mathematics ◽

Undergraduate Science ◽

Social Network Analyses

Programs seeking to transform undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses often strive for participating faculty to share their knowledge of innovative teaching practices with other faculty in their home departments. Here, we provide interview, survey, and social network analyses revealing that faculty who use innovative teaching practices preferentially talk to each other, suggesting that greater steps are needed for information about innovative practices to reach faculty more broadly.

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