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1. Instructional Decision Making in a Gateway Quantitative Reasoning Course

   https://doi.org/10.5038/1936-4660.17.1.1451  

   Budhathoki, Deependra; Foley, Gregory; Shadik, Stephen (January 2024, Numeracy)

   Grawe, Nathan D (Ed.)

   Many educators and professional organizations recommend Quantitative Reasoning as the best entry-level postsecondary mathematics course for non-STEM majors. However, novice and veteran instructors who have no prior experience in teaching a QR course often express their ignorance of the content to choose for this course, the instruction to offer students, and the assessments to measure student learning. We conducted a case study to investigate the initial implementation of an entry-level university quantitative reasoning course during fall semester, 2018. The participants were the course instructor and students. We examined the instructor’s motives and actions and the students’ responses to the course. The instructor had no prior experience teaching a QR course but did have 15 years of experience teaching student-centered mathematics. Data included course artifacts, class observations, an instructor interview, and students’ written reflections. Because this was a new course—and to adapt to student needs—the instructor employed his instructional autonomy and remained flexible in designing and enacting the course content, instruction, and assessment. His instructional decision making and flexible approach helped the instructor tailor the learning activities and teaching practices to the needs and interests of the students. The students generally appreciated and benefited from this approach, enjoyed the course, and provided positive remarks about the instructors’ practices. 

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2. Predicting implementation of active learning by tenure-track teaching faculty using robust cluster analysis

   https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-022-00365-9  

   Denaro, Kameryn; Kranzfelder, Petra; Owens, Melinda T.; Sato, Brian; Zuckerman, Austin L.; Hardesty, Rebecca A.; Signorini, Adriana; Aebersold, Andrea; Verma, Mayank; Lo, Stanley M. (July 2022, International Journal of STEM Education)

   Abstract BackgroundThe University of California system has a novel tenure-track education-focused faculty position called Lecturer with Security of Employment (working titles: Teaching Professor or Professor of Teaching). We focus on the potential difference in implementation of active-learning strategies by faculty type, including tenure-track education-focused faculty, tenure-track research-focused faculty, and non-tenure-track lecturers. In addition, we consider other instructor characteristics (faculty rank, years of teaching, and gender) and classroom characteristics (campus, discipline, and class size). We use a robust clustering algorithm to determine the number of clusters, identify instructors using active learning, and to understand the instructor and classroom characteristics in relation to the adoption of active-learning strategies. ResultsWe observed 125 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate courses at three University of California campuses using the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM to examine active-learning strategies implemented in the classroom. Tenure-track education-focused faculty are more likely to teach with active-learning strategies compared to tenure-track research-focused faculty. Instructor and classroom characteristics that are also related to active learning include campus, discipline, and class size. The campus with initiatives and programs to support undergraduate STEM education is more likely to have instructors who adopt active-learning strategies. There is no difference in instructors in the Biological Sciences, Engineering, or Information and Computer Sciences disciplines who teach actively. However, instructors in the Physical Sciences are less likely to teach actively. Smaller class sizes also tend to have instructors who teach more actively. ConclusionsThe novel tenure-track education-focused faculty position within the University of California system represents a formal structure that results in higher adoption of active-learning strategies in undergraduate STEM education. Campus context and evolving expectations of the position (faculty rank) contribute to the symbols related to learning and teaching that correlate with differential implementation of active learning. 

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3. Longitudinal Associations between Learning Assistants and Instructor Effectiveness

   https://doi.org/10.1119/perc.2017.pr.015  

   Caravez, Daniel; De La Torre, Angelica; Nissen, Jayson M.; Van Dusen, Ben (January 2018, Proc. 2017 Physics Education Research Conference)

   A central goal of the Learning Assistant (LA) model is to improve students’ learning of science through the transformation of instructor practices. There is minimal existing research on the impact of college physics instructor experiences on their effectiveness. To investigate the association between college introductory physics instructors’ experiences with and without LAs and student learning, we drew on data from the Learning About STEM Student Outcomes (LASSO) database. The LASSO database provided us with student-level data (concept inventory scores and demographic data) for 4,365 students and course-level data (instructor experience and course features) for the students’ 93 mechanics courses. We performed Hierarchical Multiple Imputation to impute missing data and Hierarchical Linear Modeling to nest students within courses when modeling the associations be- tween instructor experience and student learning. Our models predict that instructors’ effectiveness decreases as they gain experience teaching without LAs. However, LA supported environments appear to remediate this decline in effectiveness as instructor effectiveness is maintained while they gain experience teaching with LAs. 

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4. Development of a self-report instrument for measuring online teaching practices and discussion facilitation

   https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0275880  

   DeCamp, Whitney; Horvitz, Brian; Garza Mitchell, Regina L.; Kowalske, Megan Grunert; Singleton, Cherrelle (October 2022, PLOS ONE)

   Luo, Heng (Ed.)

   Online learning in higher education has been increasing for many years. This is happening across all of higher education and it is happening more specifically within STEM fields. The growth of online learning has significantly accelerated the past couple of years during the COVID-19 pandemic as colleges and universities have sought ways to continue educating students while also keeping students, faculty and staff safe. As result, many college faculty and instructors across all fields of study including STEM fields have made and continue to make the transition to teaching online for the first time. Teaching in an online environment is different from traditional classroom teaching in many ways and presents a unique set of challenges to college instructors. This study documents the development of an instrument used for instructors to self-report their instructional techniques and practices. Data from 251 instructors is also used to examine how this instrument can be used to better understand particular practices, with a focus in this study on discussion facilitation. The results align with the Community of Inquiry framework, including indicating that teaching through discussion forums involves direct contribution and/or facilitation. 

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5. Surveying online interaction: Relating college instructor characteristics and perceptions to online instructional practices

   Orona, G.; Li, Q.; McPartlan, P.; Bartek, C.; Xu, D. (November 2020, Online Learning Research Center)

   null (Ed.)

   Little is known regarding the use of, and factors related with, interaction-oriented practices. In this study we investigate instructors’ use of interaction-oriented practices in online college courses. We begin by drawing on several strands of literature to offer a person-purpose interaction framework for categorizing interaction-oriented practices. The framework’s six sub-domains integrate for whom students are interacting (instructor, student, content) with the interaction’s pedagogical purpose (academic, social, managerial). Subsequently, we examine factors that predict instructors’ use of these six domains of practices, including instructors’ characteristics and their perceptions of online learning, using a sample of (n = 126) community college instructors teaching online courses. The results show that instructors using more interaction-oriented practices consistently have greater employment status and teaching load, greater self-efficacy for using learning management systems, and greater perceived benefits of online learning for students, with subtle distinctions found across sub-domains. The findings have several implications for future research examining pedagogical behavior, as well as the design of professional development activities aimed at enhancing the use of effective online instructional practices among college instructors. 

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