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1. Using latent profile analysis to assess teaching change

   Weston, T. J. ; Laursen, S. ; Hayward, C. N. ( February 2023 , Proceedings of the Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education)

   Cook, S. ; Katz, B. ; Moore-Russo, D. (Ed.)

   Teaching observations can be used in multiple ways to describe and assess instruction. We addressed the challenge of measuring instructional change with observational protocols, data that often do not lend themselves easily to statistical comparisons. We first grouped 790 mathematics classes using Latent Profile Analysis and found four reliable categories of classes. Based on the grouping we proposed a proportional measure called Proportion Non-Didactic Lecture (PND). The measure is the proportion of interactive to lecture classes for each instructor. The PND worked in simple hypothesis tests but lacked some statistical power due to possible scaler ceiling effects. The measure correlated highly with a dependent measure derived from the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP), a holistic observational measure. The PND also provided effective descriptions and visualizations of instructional approaches and how these changed from pre to post. 

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2. Which evidence-based teaching practices change over time? Results from a university-wide STEM faculty development program

   https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-022-00340-4  

   Jackson, Mallory A. ; Moon, Sungmin ; Doherty, Jennifer H. ; Wenderoth, Mary Pat ( March 2022 , International Journal of STEM Education)

   There is overwhelming evidence that evidence-based teaching improves student performance; however, traditional lecture predominates in STEM courses. To provide support as faculty transform their lecture-based classrooms with evidence-based teaching practices, we created a faculty development program based on best practices, Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate STEM Education (CAUSE). CAUSE paired exploration of evidence-based teaching with support for classroom implementation over two years. Each year for three years, CAUSE recruited cohorts of faculty from seven STEM departments. Faculty met biweekly to discuss evidence-based teaching and receive feedback on their implementation. We used the PORTAAL observation tool to document evidence-based teaching practices (PORTAAL practices) across four randomly chosen class sessions each term. We investigated if the number of PORTAAL practices used or the amount of practices increased during the program.

   We identified identical or equivalent course offerings taught at least twice by the same faculty member while in CAUSE (n = 42 course pairs). We used a one-way repeated measures within-subjects multivariate analysis to examine the changes in average use of 14 PORTAAL practices between the first and second timepoint. We created heat maps to visualize the difference in number of practices used and changes in level of implementation of each PORTAAL practice. Post-hoc within-subjects effects indicated that three PORTAAL practices were significantly higher and two were lower at timepoint two. Use of prompting prior knowledge and calling on volunteers to give answers decreased, while instructors doubled use of prompting students to explain their logic, and increased use of random call by almost 40% when seeking answers from students. Heat maps indicated increases came both from faculty’s adoption of these practices and increased use, depending on the practice. Overall, faculty used more practices more frequently, which contributed to a 17% increase in time that students were actively engaged in class.

   Results suggest that participation in a long-term faculty development program can support increased use of evidence-based teaching practices which have been shown to improve student exam performance. Our findings can help prioritize the efforts of future faculty development programs.

    

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3. Limited or complete? Teaching and learning conceptions and instructional environments fostered by STEM teaching versus research faculty

   https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-023-00440-9  

   Rozhenkova, Veronika ; Snow, Lauren ; Sato, Brian K. ; Lo, Stanley M. ; Buswell, Natascha Trellinger ( August 2023 , International Journal of STEM Education)

   An instructor’s conceptions of teaching and learning contribute to the establishment of learning environments that may benefit or hinder student learning. Previous studies have defined the continuum of teaching and learning conceptions, ranging from limited to complete, as well as the instructional practices that they help to inform (instructor-centered to student-centered), and the corresponding learning environments that these conceptions and practices establish, ranging from traditional to student-centered. Using the case of one STEM department at a research-intensive, minority serving institution, we explored faculty’s conceptions of teaching and learning and their resulting instructional practices, as well as uncovered their perspectives on the intradepartmental faculty interactions related to teaching. The study participants were drawn from both teaching-focused (called Professors of Teaching, PoTs) and traditional research (whom we call Research Professors, RPs) tenure-track faculty lines to identify whether differences existed amongst these two populations. We used interviews to explore faculty conceptions and analyzed syllabi to unveil how these conceptions shape instructional environments.

   Overall, PoTs exhibited complete conceptions of teaching and learning that emphasized student ownership of learning, whereas RPs possessed intermediate conceptions that focused more on transmitting knowledge and helping students prepare for subsequent courses. While both PoTs and RPs self-reported the use of active learning pedagogies, RPs were more likely to also highlight the importance of traditional lecture. The syllabi analysis revealed that PoTs enacted more student-centered practices in their classrooms compared to RPs. PoTs appeared to be more intentionally available to support students outside of class and encouraged student collaboration, while RPs focused more on the timeliness of assessments and enforcing more instructor-centered approaches in their courses. Finally, the data indicated that RPs recognized PoTs as individuals who were influential on their own teaching conceptions and practices.

   Our findings suggest that departments should consider leveraging instructional experts who also possess a disciplinary background (PoTs) to improve their educational programs, both due to their student-centered impacts on the classroom environment and positive influence on their colleagues (RPs). This work also highlights the need for higher education institutions to offer appropriate professional development resources to enable faculty to reflect on their teaching and learning conceptions, aid in their pedagogical evolution, and guide the implementation of these conceptions into practice.

    

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4. Tool trouble: Challenges with using self‐report data to evaluate long‐term chemistry teacher professional development

   https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21323  

   Herrington, Deborah G. ; Yezierski, Ellen J. ; Bancroft, Senetta F. ( March 2016 , Journal of Research in Science Teaching)

   The purpose of this study was to compare the ability of different instruments, independently developed and traditionally used for measuring science teachers’ beliefs in short‐term interventions, to longitudinally measure teachers’ changing beliefs. We compared the ability of three self‐report instruments (Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument Form A [STEBI], Teaching of Science as Inquiry instrument [TSI], Inquiry Teaching Beliefs instrument [ITB]) and one observational instrument (Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol [RTOP]) to appropriately measure high school chemistry teachers’ beliefs as they engaged in a two and a half year professional development program. Collectively our findings from these four instruments, across three separate cohort of teachers (N = 16), indicated conflicting changes in teacher beliefs. For example, the STEBI indicated teachers’ self‐efficacy remained unchanged or increased while the TSI indicated a concurrent decrease in self‐efficacy throughout the PD program. Additionally, the ITB seemed to indicate a decrease in teachers’ knowledge of inquiry while their interview data and RTOP scores indicated a concurrent increase in their knowledge of and ability to enact inquiry‐based practices. We reconcile these conflicting results and discuss the implications these findings have for validly and reliably measuring science teacher belief changes within longer duration PD. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 53:1055–1081, 2016

    

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5. Evaluating the impact of malleable factors on percent time lecturing in gateway chemistry, mathematics, and physics courses

   https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-022-00333-3  

   Yik, Brandon J. ; Raker, Jeffrey R. ; Apkarian, Naneh ; Stains, Marilyne ; Henderson, Charles ; Dancy, Melissa H. ; Johnson, Estrella ( February 2022 , International Journal of STEM Education)

   Active learning used in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses has been shown to improve student outcomes. Nevertheless, traditional lecture-orientated approaches endure in these courses. The implementation of teaching practices is a result of many interrelated factors including disciplinary norms, classroom context, and beliefs about learning. Although factors influencing uptake of active learning are known, no study to date has had the statistical power to empirically test the relative association of these factors with active learning when considered collectively. Prior studies have been limited to a single or small number of evaluated factors; in addition, such studies did not capture the nested nature of institutional contexts. We present the results of a multi-institution, large-scale (N = 2382 instructors;N = 1405 departments;N = 749 institutions) survey-based study in the United States to evaluate 17 malleable factors (i.e., influenceable and changeable) that are associated with the amount of time an instructor spends lecturing, a proxy for implementation of active learning strategies, in introductory postsecondary chemistry, mathematics, and physics courses.

   Regression analyses, using multilevel modeling to account for the nested nature of the data, indicate several evaluated contextual factors, personal factors, and teacher thinking factors were significantly associated with percent of class time lecturing when controlling for other factors used in this study. Quantitative results corroborate prior research in indicating that large class sizes are associated with increased percent time lecturing. Other contextual factors (e.g., classroom setup for small group work) and personal contexts (e.g., participation in scholarship of teaching and learning activities) are associated with a decrease in percent time lecturing.

   Given the malleable nature of the factors, we offer tangible implications for instructors and administrators to influence the adoption of more active learning strategies in introductory STEM courses.

    

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