Anatomy of STEM teaching in North American universities

Who is Represented in the Research on Undergraduate Research Experiences in the Natural Sciences? A Review of Literature

Positive outcomes from undergraduate research experiences (UREs) have resulted in calls to broaden and diversify participation in research. However, we have little understanding of what demographics are reported and considered in the analyses of student outcomes from UREs. Without this information, it is impossible to assess whether participation in UREs has been diversified and how outcomes may vary by participant identity. Through a comprehensive literature search, we systematically identified 147 peer-reviewed research articles on student participation in UREs in the natural sciences, published between 2014 and 2020. We coded each paper to document which student demographic variables are reported and considered in analyses. The majority (88%) of articles on UREs reported at least one demographic variable and 62% incorporate demographics into their analyses, but demographics beyond gender and race/ethnicity were infrequently considered. Articles on independent research apprenticeships included demographics in their analyses more frequently than studies on course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). Trends in reporting and analyzing demographics did not change from 2014 to 2020. Future efforts to collect these data will help assess whether goals to diversify UREs are being met and inform how to design UREs to meet the needs of diverse student groups.

The Neuroscience of Active Learning and Direct Instruction

Throughout the educational system, students experiencing active learning pedagogy perform better and fail less than those taught through direct instruction. Can this be ascribed to differences in learning from a neuroscientific perspective? This review examines mechanistic, neuroscientific evidence that might explain differences in cognitive engagement contributing to learning outcomes between these instructional approaches. In classrooms, direct instruction comprehensively describes academic content, while active learning provides structured opportunities for learners to explore, apply, and manipulate content. Synaptic plasticity and its modulation by arousal or novelty are central to all learning and both approaches. As a form of social learning, direct instruction relies upon working memory. The reinforcement learning circuit, associated agency, curiosity, and peer-to-peer social interactions combine to enhance motivation, improve retention, and build higher-order-thinking skills in active learning environments. When working memory becomes overwhelmed, additionally engaging the reinforcement learning circuit improves retention, providing an explanation for the benefits of active learning. This analysis provides a mechanistic examination of how emerging neuroscience principles might inform pedagogical choices at all educational levels.

A National Snapshot of Introductory Chemistry Instructors and Their Instructional Practices

The effectiveness of active learning on promoting students' academic outcomes and persistence has been established in the literature. However, despite the effort of purposeful change agents, the uptake of active learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is slow. While previous research from the chemistry education community has provided insights into the implementation of specific active learning strategies across the United States, the extent to which chemistry instructors leverage these strategies in general remains unknown. This article presents the results of a national survey aimed at exploring introductory chemistry instructors' knowledge and implementation of active learning, variations on this knowledge, and use across tenure statuses and institution types. This paper also aims to address the gap in the literature in our understanding of the characteristics of instructors of these courses. We thus provide a description of instructors' demographics, training, teaching experience, and teaching responsibilities. Our findings reveal that instructors in these courses are prominently males of European descent. Additionally, instructors come into their teaching position with minimal pedagogical training and participate mainly in short training once in their position. While the majority of instructors have knowledge of specific active learning strategies, their consistent implementation remains limited, with lecturing still being the instructional practice of choice. Variations were found between institution types and across tenure statuses within institutions in terms of pedagogical training, use of specific active learning strategies, and proportion of class time spent lecturing. The findings provide a baseline for future studies that aim to assess the effectiveness of interventions fostering the implementation of active learning in introductory chemistry courses and highlight the critical need for improved communication about teaching practices across institutions and tenure statuses.

Change as a Scientific Enterprise: Practical Suggestions about Using Change Theory

Change theory has increasingly become an area of scholarship in STEM education. While this area has traditionally been a topic for organizational psychology, business management, communication studies, and higher education, STEM education researchers are increasingly aware of the need to use formal theories to guide change efforts and research. Formal change theory encompasses our current research-based knowledge about how and why change occurs, and therefore, can guide the selection and design of promising interventions. Yet learning about and using theory is challenging because many of us have no formal training in this area and relevant scholarship comes from many different disciplines. Inconsistent terminology creates an additional barrier. Thus, this essay aims to contribute to a common lexicon in STEM higher educational change efforts by clearly distinguishing between formalized change theory, which emerges from research, and a theory of change, which guides the logic of a specific project. We also briefly review the current state of the field regarding the use of formal change theory and provide examples of how change theory has been used in biology education. Lastly, we offer practical guidance for researchers and change agents who wish to more intentionally and effectively use change theory in their work.

If you are learner-centered and you know it, raise your hand: Perspectives on and implementation of pedagogical changes by science instructors during the COVID-19 pandemic

Students at Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) faced significant hardships while trying to learn through emergency remote teaching (ERT) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our research aims to investigate if science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instructors thought about and enacted more learner-centered teaching practices to alleviate some of this stress encountered by their students. Using semi-structured interviews and classroom observations, we utilized inductive and deductive qualitative research methods to examine two questions: (1) To what extent were STEM instructor's perceived pedagogical changes learner-centered during ERT?; and (2) To what extent were STEM instructor's teaching behaviors and discourse practices learner-centered during ERT? Our findings revealed that during ERT, STEM instructors described using a variety of pedagogical changes that we identified as learner-centered under the Weimer framework, including ideas such as enacting flexible late policies and increased usage of formative assessment. Interestingly, we found that many of these learned-centered changes were happening outside of the classroom. Classroom observations assessing instructor behaviors and discourse demonstrated that STEM instructors enacted practices that aligned with Weimer's five constructs of learner-centered teaching. Our research highlights implications of learner-centered teaching practices for STEM instructors as well as researchers.

Thinking and Learning in Nested Systems: The Classroom Level

Teaching and learning in college chemistry classrooms is affected by a variety of structural and psychosocial factors that influence classroom dynamics. In this second part of a two-part perspective [Talanquer et al. J. Chem. Educ.10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00838], we review and discuss the results from research that has helped us understand the complex social and knowledge dynamics that emerge in interactive learning environments. We use this analysis to make explicit major insights about curriculum, instruction, assessment, teachers, and students gained in the past 25 years and to summarize their implications for chemistry education.

Assessment of the Effectiveness of Team-based Learning Activities on Learning Outcomes in the Undergraduate Immunology Classroom

Immunology is inherently interdisciplinary. Understanding how the immune system functions requires knowledge from several scientific disciplines, including molecular biology, cellular biology, genetics, and biochemistry. Furthermore, immunology is conceptually complex, requiring the identification of a plethora of immune components and mastery of a large volume of new vocabulary. These attributes can pose challenges to student learning in the undergraduate immunology classroom. Team-based learning (TBL) is a pedagogical method used to increase student engagement in learning, improve student collaboration, and develop communication skills. In a variety of educational settings, TBL activities have been shown to foster a deeper understanding of complex topics, increase student confidence in course content, and improve learning outcomes. In this study, we examined differences in the impact of traditional lecture versus TBL activities on student learning outcomes for four different topics presented in an undergraduate adaptive immunity course composed largely of academically high-performing students. We matched content across two student cohorts, delivered via team-based learning methodology (T cell development and Ab-mediated functions) and traditional lecture (B cell development and T cell effector functions). Student learning was assessed using content questions across a range of Bloom's taxonomy levels, which demonstrated that the TBL activities did not improve examination performance over lecture-based learning in this course. However, students found this learning tool to be valuable, indicating that the TBL activities assisted with preparation for examinations and provided a necessary opportunity to address misconceptions.

Boosting student performance with inclusive writing-to-learn assignments through graphic organizers in large enrollment undergraduate biology courses

Logistical challenges in large enrollment classes are often mentioned as obstacles to active learning. Writing is an integral part of being a scientist and is often one of the first tools considered by STEM instructors to increase student engagement, but iterative writing assignments in large classes require creativity on the part of the instructor. We found an association between writing-to-learn assignments designed to be consistent with inclusive learning pedagogies and student performance measures in a large enrollment undergraduate biology course. They provide ample opportunity for deliberate practice and inclusive engagement, components of the "heads and hearts" hypothesis posed to explain the variation in active learning impacts on the performance of minoritized students.

Biology Instructors See Value in Discussing Controversial Topics but Fear Personal and Professional Consequences

Traditional biology curricula depict science as an objective field, overlooking the important influence that human values and biases have on what is studied and who can be a scientist. We can work to address this shortcoming by incorporating ideological awareness into the curriculum, which is an understanding of biases, stereotypes, and assumptions that shape contemporary and historical science. We surveyed a national sample of lower-level biology instructors to determine 1) why it is important for students to learn science, 2) the perceived educational value of ideological awareness in the classroom, and 3) hesitancies associated with ideological awareness implementation. We found that most instructors reported "understanding the world" as the main goal of science education. Despite the perceived value of ideological awareness, such as increasing student engagement and dispelling misconceptions, instructors were hesitant to implement ideological awareness modules due to potential personal and professional consequences.

Clair B, Jensen JL. Iterating toward change: Improving student-centered teaching through the STEM faculty institute (STEMFI)

One of the primary reasons why students leave STEM majors is due to the poor quality of instruction. Teaching practices can be improved through professional development programs; however, several barriers exist. Creating lasting change by overcoming these barriers is the primary objective of the STEM Faculty Institute (STEMFI). STEMFI was designed according to the framework established by Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior. To evaluate its effectiveness, the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS) tool was used before and after an intensive year-long faculty development program and analyzed using copusprofiles.org, a tool that classifies each COPUS report into one of three instructional styles: didactic, interactive lecture, and student-centered. We report the success of our program in changing faculty teaching behaviors and we categorize them into types of reformers. Then, thematically coded post-participation interviews give us clues into the characteristics of each type of reformer. Our results demonstrate that faculty can significantly improve the student-centeredness of their teaching practices in a relatively short time. We also discuss the implications of faculty attitudes for future professional development efforts.

Co-teaching in Undergraduate STEM Education: A Lever for Pedagogical Change toward Evidence-Based Teaching?

Could co-teaching be a mechanism to support the adoption of evidence-based teaching strategies? Co-teaching has been proposed as a lever for fostering pedagogical change and has key attributes of a successful change strategy, but does research indicate co-teaching effectively shifts instructional practices? Based on our review of the emerging evidence, we wrote this essay for multiple audiences, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instructors, education development professionals, leaders who oversee teaching, and researchers. We define co-teaching in the context of STEM higher education and summarize what is known about the pedagogical changes that co-teaching could support and the potential mechanisms behind these changes. We share recommendations based on the available evidence for those who need productive ideas right now. We also lay out a variety of future directions for research about co-teaching as a lever for pedagogical change. Achieving widespread and impactful pedagogical change is a monumental undertaking facing STEM higher education, and multiple approaches will be needed to meet this challenge. Co-teaching has potential to shift ways of thinking and pedagogical practices among undergraduate STEM faculty, but how co-teaching is enacted is likely crucial to its impact, as is the context in which it occurs.

Exploring the Complementarity of Measures of Instructional Practices

The assessment of instructional quality has been and continues to be a desirable, yet difficult endeavor in higher education. The development of new teaching evaluation frameworks along with instruments to measure various aspects of teaching practices holds promise. The challenge rests in the implementation of these frameworks and measures in authentic settings. Part of this challenge is for instructors, researchers, and administrators to parse through and select a meaningful set of tools from the plethora of existing instruments. In this study, we aim to start clarifying the landscape of measures of instructional practice by exploring the complementarity of two existing instruments: the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS) and the Learner-Centered Teaching Rubrics (LCTR). We collected classroom observations and course artifacts from 28 science instructors from research-intensive institutions across the United States. Results show the need to use both instruments to capture nuanced and comprehensive description of a faculty member's instructional practice. This study highlights the messiness of measuring instructional quality and the need to explore the implementation of teaching evaluation frameworks and measures of instructional practices in authentic settings.

Learning Games: A New Tool for Orthodontic Education

Learning games that are based on current scientific concepts are underutilized in dental education. This paper explores the relevant science of learning and discusses several principles that are conducive to learning and teaching in an educational setting, namely retrieval practice, feedback, motivation, and engagement. A discussion of learning games in health professional education ensues, followed by a description of relevant best practices in game design for learning. This paper concludes by presenting Dealodontics©, a card game developed at New York University College of Dentistry with the goal of helping second-year dental students review, practice, and apply basic skills relevant to their orthodontics competency requirements.

Clair BE, West RE, Jensen JL. Factors that influence STEM faculty use of evidence-based instructional practices: An ecological model

Traditional teaching practices in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses have failed to support student success, causing many students to leave STEM fields and disproportionately affecting women and students of color. Although much is known about effective STEM teaching practices, many faculty continue to adhere to traditional methods, such as lecture. In this study, we investigated the factors that affect STEM faculty members' instructional decisions about evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs). We performed a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with faculty members from the Colleges of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Engineering who took part in a professional development program to support the use of EBIPs by STEM faculty at the university. We used an ecological model to guide our investigation and frame the results. Faculty identified a variety of personal, social, and contextual factors that influenced their instructional decision-making. Personal factors included attitudes, beliefs, and self-efficacy. Social factors included the influence of students, colleagues, and administration. Contextual factors included resources, time, and student characteristics. These factors interact with each other in meaningful ways that highlight the hyper-local social contexts that exist within departments and sub-department cultures, the importance of positive feedback from students and colleagues when implementing EBIPs, and the need for support from the administration for faculty who are in the process of changing their teaching.

Experience with Scientific Teaching in Face-to-Face Settings Promoted Usage of Evidence-Based Practices during Emergency Remote Teaching

During the Spring of 2020, instructors across the nation scrambled to transition their face-to-face courses to remote/online modalities. Necessarily, teaching practices adapted. This study investigated how the usage of evidence-based practices as defined by scientific teaching (ST) was impacted during this rapid transition. More than 130 science faculty teaching courses in biology, mostly from primarily undergraduate institutions in the U.S. Midwest, completed the Measurement Instrument of Scientific Teaching (MIST) for one course of their choosing (lecture portion only for laboratory-based courses). Participants compared how they taught the course in the face-to-face versus the remote setting. MIST scores declined in every category of ST. An instructor's face-to-face MIST score was the largest predictor for the remote MIST score. Fourteen representative participants completed a follow-up interview to discuss how and why they made the changes they did within each ST category. Interviews uncovered variation in how individual practices were emphasized, scheduled, and implemented in normal teaching environments, how access to resources changed in the Spring of 2020, and how all of these things impacted the way ST practices were adopted in emergency remote teaching. Recommendations for mitigating declines in the use of evidence-based teaching in response to future unexpected events are discussed.

Collaborative Teaching plus (CT+): A Timely, Flexible, and Dynamic Course Design Implemented during Emergency Remote Teaching in an Introductory Biology Course

Student-centered pedagogies promote student learning in college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classrooms. However, transitioning to active learning from traditional lecturing may be challenging for both students and instructors. This case study presents the development, implementation, and assessment of a modified collaborative teaching (CT) and team-based learning (TBL) approach (CT plus TBL, or CT+) in an introductory biology course at a Minority-Serving Institution. A logic model was formulated depicting the various assessment practices with the culminating goal of improving the student learning experience. We analyzed qualitative and quantitative data based on students and instructors' behaviors and discourse, and student midsemester and end-of-semester surveys. Our findings revealed that the integration of multiple instructors allowed for knowledge exchange in blending complementary behaviors and discourse practices during class sessions. In addition, the frequent ongoing assessments and incorporation of student feedback informed the CT+ design during both in-person and emergency remote teaching. Furthermore, this course design could be easily adapted to a variety of STEM courses in higher education, including remote instruction.

The Rotating Front Row Increases Student-Reported Participation during Discussion

Discussion is a common method to engage students in large-enrollment lectures. Many instructors rely on voluntary participation from students, which can lead to inequitable student contributions and exposure to a narrow scope of opinions. Mandatory participation for which points are earned or lost can lead to student disengagement and have the unintended consequence of marginalizing students. A technique known as the rotating front row blends mandatory participation with student flexibility to provide space for all voices while lowering barriers in traditional discussions. Field tests in microbiology-based lectures showed a majority of nonmicrobiology majors (77.1%) and microbiology majors (76.1%) reported an increase in participation within discussions after engaging in the rotating front row. A slight majority of nonmajors (55.7%) and majors (55.1%) reported an increased understanding of the course material covered during participation in the rotating front row. Student responses indicated the rotating front row alleviated anxiety surrounding public speaking while deepening understanding of the course material. The rotating front row is an inclusive technique in which students hear multiple perspectives and an equitable technique that ensures all voices are given an opportunity to contribute within discussions.

A Longitudinal Study Identifying the Characteristics and Content Knowledge of Those Seeking Certification to Teach Secondary Biology in the United States

Teacher content knowledge has been identified as a key prerequisite to effective instruction, and current educational policies require measurement of teacher content knowledge to assess candidacy for licensure. The primary instruments used in the United States are the Praxis Subject Assessment exams, which are designed to measure the subject-specific content knowledge needed to be a teacher. The Praxis Biology Subject Assessment exam, used by 42 U.S. states in the past decade, is the most common national measure used to determine biology content knowledge for teacher certification. Demographic and performance data from examinees (N = 43,798) who took the Praxis Biology Subject Assessment from 2006 to 2015 were compared to present a much-needed picture of who is seeking certification to teach biology, how different groups of aspiring biology teachers have performed, and how demographic makeup of prospective biology teachers compares with reports in previous studies describing the composition of the biology teacher workforce. Results indicate the majority of students self-reported as White (76%), female (66%), having undergraduate grade point averages (GPAs) at or above a 3.0 (76%) and majoring in biology (45%). Additionally, the demographic data were included in a linear regression model to determine the factors that explained the most variance in performance of the examinee. The model revealed substantial differences in average performance and pass rates between examinees of different genders, races, undergraduate majors, undergraduate GPAs, and census regions. This suggests that if the examinee is a White science, technology, engineering, and mathematics major, man with a 3.5 or higher undergraduate GPA, resides in the western United States, or plans to teach in a suburban school, the examinee will on average outperform their counterparts on the exam. From our analyses, we suggest several measures for the improvement of the biology teaching workforce and establish potential issues in the teacher pipeline that may impact the quality and diversity of U.S. biology teachers.

The Metamorphosing Professor: Adapting Teaching to Fulfill the Promise of Biology Education

Teaching students at all levels of education has undergone extensive changes, particularly in the past decade. Our present student population has transformed dramatically in the 21st century due to the changing demographics of the nation, an increasing use of technology both inside and outside the classroom, along with an expectation to have information instantaneously available to peruse and utilize as a source of material. Today's instructors also need to adapt to these changes by assessing how well students are learning new concepts, as well as how much material students retain for future coursework. Here, we explore the recent history of science education, and the progress that has been made to overcome multiple learning obstacles, particularly relevant to PEERs (persons excluded because of their ethnicity or race) in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). We hope to provide insight into how educators are restructuring the way they design their teaching portfolios to provide better outcomes for the students of today's educational system.

Is Active Learning Enough? The Contributions of Misconception-Focused Instruction and Active-Learning Dosage on Student Learning of Evolution

Prior studies of active learning (AL) efficacy have typically lacked dosage designs (e.g., varying intensities rather than simple presence or absence) or specification of whether misconceptions were part of the instructional treatments. In this study, we examine the extent to which different doses of AL (approximately 10%, 15%, 20%, 36% of unit time), doses of misconception-focused instruction (MFI; approximately 0%, 8%, 11%, 13%), and their intersections affect evolution learning. A quantitative, quasiexperimental study (N > 1500 undergraduates) was conducted using a pretest, posttest, delayed posttest design with multiple validated measures of evolution understanding. The student background variables (e.g., binary sex, race or ethnicity), evolution acceptance, and prior coursework were controlled. The results of hierarchical linear and logistic models indicated that higher doses of AL and MFI were associated with significantly larger knowledge and abstract reasoning gains and misconception declines. MFI produced significant learning above and beyond AL. Explicit misconception treatments, coupled with AL, should be explored in more areas of life science education.

Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Features of Active Learning Models for Teaching and Learning to Teach Mathematics

The recent push toward active learning – engaging students in the learning process – is meant to benefit students. Yet there is still much to learn about students’ perceptions of this phenomenon. We share results from an interview study of students’ perceptions of features of two active learning models institutionalized at a large doctoral-granting university – a model for teaching foundational mathematics courses and an early field experience model for teaching preservice secondary students to teach mathematics. These models were implemented simultaneously in a single precalculus course. Interviews were conducted with both student populations (i.e., precalculus students and preservice teachers) to understand which in-class features of the models students noticed and identified as beneficial to their learning. Precalculus students identified specific opportunities related to active learning in the undergraduate mathematics teaching model – working in groups on mathematics tasks that engaged students in sensemaking and interacting with their instructor around mathematics. Preservice teachers identified specific opportunities related to three features of the university field experience model – observing a mathematics instructor enacting ambitious instructional practices, planning and teaching a “real” lesson, and observing student thinking and practicing teaching moves during groupwork. We conclude with pedagogical recommendations about particular features of the models that may help mitigate student resistance to active learning.

Postsecondary Faculty Attitudes and Beliefs about Writing-Based Pedagogies in the STEM Classroom

Writing is an important skill for communicating knowledge in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and an aid to developing students' communication skills, content knowledge, and disciplinary thinking. Despite the importance of writing, its incorporation into the undergraduate STEM curriculum is uneven. Research indicates that understanding faculty beliefs is important when trying to propagate evidence-based instructional practices, yet faculty beliefs about writing pedagogies are not yet broadly characterized for STEM teaching at the undergraduate level. Based on a nationwide cross-disciplinary survey at research-intensive institutions, this work aims to understand the extent to which writing is assigned in undergraduate STEM courses and the factors that influence faculty members' beliefs about, and reported use of, writing-based pedagogies. Faculty attitudes about the effectiveness of writing practices did not differ between faculty who assign and do not assign writing; rather, beliefs about the influence of social factors and contextually imposed instructional constraints informed their decisions to use or not use writing. Our findings indicate that strategies to increase the use of writing need to specifically target the factors that influence faculty decisions to assign or not assign writing. It is not faculty beliefs about effectiveness, but rather faculty beliefs about behavioral control and constraints at the departmental level that need to be targeted.

Which Group Dynamics Matter: Social Predictors of Student Achievement in Team-Based Undergraduate Science Classrooms

While group work in undergraduate science education tends to have overall benefit, less is known about the specific peer-peer dynamics that optimize learning during group interaction. The current study used peer ratings and self-reported data from 436 students enrolled in team-based undergraduate science courses (biology or chemistry) to determine group dynamics that predicted both willingness to work with peers in the future and individual achievement in the course. Results show that greater personal connection and contributions predicted willingness to work with a group member (R²_biology = 0.75; R²_chemistry = 0.59). While active contribution to a group predicted greater achievement, more noncontent interactions (e.g., encouragement, listening to feedback, being polite) predicted lower achievement, despite these being on-task and relevant. Additionally, having group members who were willing to continue working with a student was a positive predictor of that student's achievement regardless of course. Strikingly, students in chemistry were significantly less willing to work with women in their groups compared with men. Finally, not all forms of group conflict predict decreased achievement. These findings highlight group factors such as student behavior within the group, aspects of the group social environment, and peer support that can be targeted for optimizing undergraduate science learning.

Guides to Advance Teaching Evaluation (GATEs): A Resource for STEM Departments Planning Robust and Equitable Evaluation Practices

Most science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) departments inadequately evaluate teaching, which means they are not equipped to recognize or reward effective teaching. As part of a project at one institution, we observed that departmental chairs needed help recognizing the decisions they would need to make to improve teaching evaluation practices. To meet this need, we developed the Guides to Advance Teaching Evaluation (GATEs), using an iterative development process. The GATEs are designed to be a planning tool that outlines concrete goals to guide reform in teaching evaluation practices in STEM departments at research-intensive institutions. The GATEs are grounded in the available scholarly literature and guided by existing reform efforts and have been vetted with STEM departmental chairs. The GATEs steer departments to draw on three voices to evaluate teaching: trained peers, students, and the instructor. This research-based resource includes three components for each voice: 1) a list of departmental target practices to serve as goals; 2) a characterization of common starting places to prompt reflection; and 3) ideas for getting started. We provide anecdotal examples of potential uses of the GATEs for reform efforts in STEM departments and as a research tool to document departmental practices at different time points.

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

BACKGROUND

The 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.

RESULTS

We 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.

CONCLUSIONS

The 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40594-022-00365-9.

Barriers to Change: Social Network Interactions Not Sufficient for Diffusion of High-Impact Practices in STEM Teaching

We examined the relationship between faculty teaching networks, which can aid with the implementation of didactic high-impact practices (HIPs) in classroom instruction, and the actual implementation of said practices. Participants consisted of STEM faculty members that teach introductory courses at a USA research university. A total of 210 faculty were invited to complete the Teaching Practices Inventory (TPI), which measures the use of classroom-based HIPs, and were then directed to a follow-up survey to gather teaching network data if they qualified. A total of 90 faculty completed the TPI, with 52 respondents completing the network analysis portion. Ego-level data, as well as network structural position data, were collected through roster format listing all invited faculty. No correlations were found between these network metrics and TPI score. Furthermore, respondents with similar TPI scores showed no preference for interactions within their group. For example, faculty with widely varying TPI scores interacted with each other with no indications of HIPs diffusion. Although the literature suggests strong teaching networks are a necessary condition for broad diffusion of HIPs, these results indicate that such networks are not a sufficient condition. This has implications for the diffusion of HIPs specifically and institutional change generally. Engaging individuals that possess both structural positions and pedagogical knowledge may be needed to help strategically diffuse HIPs in their own networks, with institutional support and guidance most likely also required.

Inclusive and active pedagogies reduce academic outcome gaps and improve long-term performance

We assessed the impacts of the implementation of inclusive and active pedagogical approaches in an introductory biology sequence at a large, public research university in the northeast United States. We compared academic performance between these sections with other sections of the same course where didactic approaches were used over a five-year period. We also compared this five-year period (2014-2018) with the previous five years of the same courses. Additionally, we also tracked the academic performance of the students from the sections where active learning and inclusive teaching were used, as well as the more conventionally taught (lecture-based) sections in future, mandatory biology courses. We found that the inclusively taught section of the first semester of introductory biology increased the odds of students earning higher grades in that particular section. The active learning section in the second semester narrowed the ethnic performance gap when compared to similar sections, both historically and those run concurrently. Finally, students who matriculated into the inclusively taught section of biology in the first semester followed by the active learning section in the second semester of introductory biology performed better in 200-level biology courses than students who had zero semesters of either active or inclusive pedagogy in their introductory year. Our results suggest that active and inclusive pedagogies hold great promise for improving academic performance when compared to didactic approaches, however, questions remain on the most appropriate ways for capturing the impact of inclusive approaches. Implications for institutional approaches and policy are also discussed.

Exploring Two-Year College Biology Instructors' Preferences around Teaching Strategies and Professional Development

Nearly half of all college students and the majority of college students of color begin their studies at 2-year colleges. The educational quality that these students experience will affect future success, but little research to date has focused on the professional development (PD) of their instructors. We offer an exploratory study on PD needs and preferences of ten 2-year college biology instructors who have experience with evidence-based instructional practices. Using a literature review and interview data, we address four research questions. We contextualize the interview results by describing interviewee teaching styles and their teaching and inclusion strategies, drawing on categorizations from education research literatures in and beyond biology. We then summarize interviewee experiences, preferences, and recommendations for PD. Most interviewees preferred PD that could be readily applied to their courses and included follow-up community support. While our purposive sample is limited, we note high levels of interest in PD supporting inclusive pedagogy and non-biology learning goals, such as study skills, metacognition, and quantitative skills. We describe implications for inclusive design of biology instructor PD.

Institutionalizing evidence-based STEM reform through faculty professional development and support structures

BACKGROUND

Even though student-centered instruction leads to positive student outcomes, direct instruction methods are still prevalent. Multiple barriers prevent faculty from further adopting evidence-based student-centered practices and holistic approaches to faculty support are necessary to promote faculty change. The Collaborative for Institutionalizing Scientific Learning (CISL) is an HHMI-funded program to reform undergraduate science and mathematics education at a large Hispanic-Serving public research university. The program has established a Faculty Scholar support model to impact the number of science and mathematics faculty using evidence-based practices in their classrooms. Through this program, Scholars are selected to undertake a transformation of a course of their choice and conduct an assessment of the impact of the reform on students-while receiving multiple supports including summer salary, undergraduate Learning Assistants, professional development, course assessment and education research support, and opportunities to develop manuscripts on their course transformations.

RESULTS

CISL has supported over 40 Faculty Scholars in the transformation of both introductory and upper division biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics courses. Faculty are motivated to transform a course due to factors related to their own experiences and beliefs, their students' needs, the course structure, and/or departmental elements. Quantitative analysis of the impact of the project on student success show that, overall, students in CISL-supported courses have higher passing rates compared to students in traditional classrooms. Survey and interviews of Faculty Scholars identified that the most valuable elements of the program were the personnel support from undergraduate Learning Assistants during reform implementation and guidance from the program's Assistant Director during design, implementation and evaluation.

CONCLUSIONS

The CISL program provides an example of significant effort sustained over several years to systematically improve the quality and culture of undergraduate education in a large research-intensive Hispanic Serving Institution. The program has had an overall positive impact on the professional development of Faculty Scholars and led to an increase in the number of STEM courses implementing evidence-based teaching practices, thus, taking a step towards solidifying a culture of evidence-based instructional strategies in STEM departments.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40594-022-00353-z.

Investigating the linkage between professional development and mathematics instructors’ use of teaching practices using the theory of planned behavior

Professional development has been identified as an effective way to increase college STEM instructors’ use of research-based instructional strategies (RBIS) known to benefit student learning and persistence in STEM. Yet only a few studies relate professional development experiences to later teaching behaviors of higher education instructors. This study of 361 undergraduate mathematics instructors, all of whom participated in multi-day, discipline-based workshops on teaching held in 2010–2019, examined the relationship between such participation and later use of RBIS. We found that instructors’ RBIS attitudes, knowledge, and skills strengthened after participating in professional development, and their self-reported use of RBIS became more frequent in the first year after the workshop. Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior as a conceptual framework, we used a structural equation model to test whether this theory could explain the roles of workshop participation and other personal, professional and contextual factors in fostering RBIS use. Findings indicated that, along with workshop participation, prior RBIS experience, class size, and course coordination affected RBIS use. That is, both targeted professional development and elements of the local context for implementation were important in supporting instructors’ uptake of RBIS—but, remarkably, both immediate and longer-term outcomes of professional development did not depend on other individual or institutional characteristics. In this study, the large sample size, longitudinal measurement approach, and consistency of the form and quality of professional development make it possible to distinguish the importance of multiple possible influences on instructors’ uptake of RBIS. We discuss implications for professional development and for institutional structures that support instructors as they apply what they learned, and we offer suggestions for the use of theory in future research on this topic.

Identifying systemic inequity in higher education and opportunities for improvement

It is well established that there is a national problem surrounding the equitable participation in and completion of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) higher education programs. Persons excluded because of their ethnicity or race (PEERs) experience lower course performance, major retention, sense of belonging, and degree completion. It is unclear though how pervasive these issues are across an institution, from the individual instructor, course, and discipline perspectives. Examining over six years of institutional data from a large-enrollment, research-intensive, minority-serving university, we present an analysis of racial opportunity gaps between PEERs and non-PEERs to identify the consistency of these issues. From this analysis, we find that there is considerable variability as to whether a given course section taught by a single instructor does or does not exhibit opportunity gaps, although encouragingly we did identify exemplar instructors, course-instructor pairs, courses, and departments that consistently had no significant gaps observed. We also identified significant variation across course-instructor pairs within a department, and found that certain STEM disciplines were much more likely to have courses that exhibited opportunity gaps relative to others. Across nearly all disciplines though, it is clear that these gaps are more pervasive in the lower division curriculum. This work highlights a means to identify the extent of inequity in STEM success across a university by leveraging institutional data. These findings also lay the groundwork for future studies that will enable the intentional design of STEM education reform by leveraging beneficial practices used by instructors and departments assigning equitable grades.

AJEDI in Science: Leveraging Instructor Communities to Create Antiracist Curricula

Gateway college science courses continue to exclude students from science, disproportionately discriminating against students of color. As the higher education system strives to reduce discrimination, we need a deliberate, iterative process to modify, supplement, or replace current modalities. By incorporating antiracist, just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive (AJEDI) principles throughout course design, instructors create learning environments that provide an antidote to historically oppressive systems. In this paper, we describe how a community of microbiology instructors who all teach Tiny Earth, a course-based undergraduate research experience, created and rapidly integrated antiracist content and pivoted to an online format in response to the social unrest and pandemic of 2020. The effort strengthened an existing teaching community of practice and produced collective change in classrooms across the nation. We provide a perspective on how instructor communities of practice can be leveraged to design and disseminate AJEDI curriculum.

We Can't Fail Again: Arguments for Professional Development in the Wake of COVID-19

The majority of academic institutions were underprepared for a global pandemic, leading to spikes in instructor anxiety and drops in student engagement with STEM courses. With many STEM professors teaching online for the first time, they independently sought out training in distance education and inclusive teaching practices. Had institutions been proactive in providing such professional development prior to the pandemic, the negative impacts of transitioning to online education would have been reduced. While recent events are still fresh in people's minds, we advocate for increased or maintained professional development opportunities for STEM instructors in order to protect this critical pedagogical support from budget cuts.

Participation and Performance by Gender in Synchronous Online Lectures: Three Unique Case Studies during Emergency Remote Teaching

Studies have documented that men's voices are generally heard more than women's voices in face-to-face undergraduate biology classes, and some performance gaps have also been documented. Some of the few studies on gender equity in traditional online biology education suggest that women participate more and perform better in asynchronous online courses compared to men. While much is known about emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating existing inequities generally, studies are needed about the impact of specific emergency remote teaching practices on specific groups such as women. In this study, we performed an in-depth investigation of three life sciences classrooms that utilized synchronous online lectures during the pandemic. We observed each class throughout the semester, quantified participation behaviors, and investigated the role of student gender. We also compared final course grades by gender. On average, we found that men participated more than women both verbally and by chat. These differences were not significant for each class individually, but the differences align with the face-to-face patterns seen in this population previously. Our results also hint that men's chat comments may be more likely to be acknowledged than women's chats by peers. We found evidence of greater performance disparities favoring men than seen previously before the pandemic, but not in all classes. We discuss implications for instructors conducting emergency remote teaching as well as the need for larger studies to test the replicability of our results.

From pandemic to endemic pedagogy: Being CLEAR in our teaching

In this chapter, I consider what might happen if the pandemic acts as a portal for teaching and learning in higher education. I suggest the need to make commitments to five interlocking characteristics of post‐pandemic pedagogy: Context, Learning, Equity, Agency, and Relationships. The future of teaching and learning, in short, is CLEAR.

Potential for urban agriculture to support accessible and impactful undergraduate biology education

Active learning in STEM education is essential for engaging the diverse pool of scholars needed to address pressing environmental and social challenges. However, active learning formats are difficult to scale and their incorporation into STEM teaching at U.S. universities varies widely. Here, we argue that urban agriculture as a theme can significantly increase active learning in undergraduate biology education by facilitating outdoor fieldwork and community-engaged education. We begin by reviewing benefits of field courses and community engagement activities for undergraduate biology and discuss constraints to their broader implementation. We then describe how urban agriculture can connect biology concepts to pressing global changes, provide field research opportunities, and connect students to communities. Next, we assess the extent to which urban agriculture and related themes have already been incorporated into biology-related programs in the United States using a review of major programs, reports on how campus gardens are used, and case studies from five higher education institutions (HEIs) engaging with this issue. We found that while field experiences are fairly common in major biology programs, community engagement opportunities are rare, and urban agriculture is almost nonexistent in course descriptions. We also found that many U.S. HEIs have campus gardens, but evidence suggests that they are rarely used in biology courses. Finally, case studies of five HEIs highlight innovative programming but also significant opportunities for further implementation. Together, our results suggest that urban agriculture is rarely incorporated into undergraduate biology in the United States, but there are significant prospects for doing so. We end with recommendations for integrating urban agriculture into undergraduate biology, including the development of campus gardens, research programs, community engagement partnerships, and collaborative networks. If done with care, this integration could help students make community contributions within required coursework, and help instructors feel a greater sense of accomplishment in an era of uncertainty.

The implementation of active learning practices in a South African physiology class: a follow-up study

Although there is increased uptake of active learning approaches in especially developed countries, this is still lagging within the African context. The current study therefore focused on the implementation of group learning at Stellenbosch University, with several modifications versus our earlier, pilot study. Students freely formed small groups at the start of a 5-wk cardiovascular physiology lecture series and were apportioned three separate assignments to complete over this period. This included three in-class group-learning sessions, while students also completed group work outside class times. The active learning element was embedded within a constructive alignment framework. Our data revealed that 75% of the students felt that the in-class sessions was a good use of their time and that they progressively improved their assignment scores, i.e., 67.5 ± 9.3%, 72.4 ± 9.8%, and 76.1 ± 9.5% for the first, second, and final ones, respectively (P < 0.0001). Moreover, the average class score for their final test (68 ± 15.1%) was higher when compared with the average class score (57.5 ± 19.4%) calculated for the previous 3 yr (P < 0.0001). This study revealed two major findings: i.e., 1) students displayed a strong positive response regarding the adoption of in-class collaborative group work, and 2) the introduction of such active learning elements correlated with improved student assignment and test scores. Based on these findings, we propose additional modifications (including a shift to more formative assessments) to ensure even greater success with the roll-out of such active learning elements within the African context.

Instructor facilitation mediates students' negative perceptions of active learning instruction

Studies have demonstrated students' resistance to active learning, despite evidence illustrating that their learning is improved relative to students in lectures. Specifically, while active learning and group work are effective at engaging students in their learning process, studies report that students' perceptions of active learning approaches are not always positive. What remains underexplored is whether students' perceptions of active learning improve with effective instructor facilitation and whether there exists differential perceptions between racially minoritized students and represented students. Here, we estimate students' perceptions of effective instructor facilitation as the mediator in the relationship between active learning and perceptions of learning and perceived utility for class activities (task value). Then, we examine differences by racial identification. We collected classroom observation data to empirically categorize courses as active learning or lecture-based and surveyed 4,257 college students across 25 STEM classrooms at a research-intensive university. We first examined the relationship between active learning on student perceptions and found a negative relationship between active learning and perceptions of learning and task value for both racially minoritized students and represented students. Next, we assessed whether students' perceptions of instructor effectiveness in facilitating group activities mediate these negative relationships. We found that, on average, students of all races were more likely to positively perceive instructor facilitation in active learning classes relative to lectures. In turn, the positive perceptions of instructor facilitation partially suppressed the negative relationship between active learning and perceptions of learning and task value. These results demonstrate that effective instructor facilitation can influence both students' self-assessment of learning and perceived utility of the learning activities, and underscores the importance of developing pedagogical competence among college instructors.

Improving Academic Performance and Retention of First-Year Biology Students through a Scalable Peer Mentorship Program

We examine the impact of Biology Mentoring and Engagement (BIOME) near-peer mentorship on 437 first-year undergraduate students over three cohort years. The BIOME course consists of ten, 50-minute meetings where groups of six first-year mentees meet with an upper-division student mentor to discuss topics including metacognition, growth mindset, and effective study strategies. We employed a mixed-methods approach to evaluate the impact of BIOME on mentee academic outcomes. Initial ethnographic analysis revealed that BIOME influenced student study methods, approaches to academic challenges, and use of campus learning communities. We then constructed a novel, program-specific instrument to measure the implementation of these habits, a construct we named "academic habit complexity." Regression analysis supported the hypothesis that enrollment in BIOME leads to students using more diverse approaches than their peers. Enrollment in BIOME, and the associated development of academic habit complexity, is related to higher course grades in General Chemistry, a biology major prerequisite. Finally, students participating in BIOME demonstrated improved short-term student retention as measured by increased enrollment in the subsequent prerequisite General Chemistry course. These results suggest that course-based near-peer mentorship may be an effective and scalable approach that can promote student academic success.

A comparison of non-traditional online and traditional wet-lab experiences in human anatomy and physiology: An innovative approach for pre-licensure nursing education

BACKGROUND

The contributions of student laboratory experiences to student learning in pre-licensure science classes are not well understood. Despite the generally accepted premise that traditional hands-on laboratory experiences are essential to knowledge construction and superior to non-traditional online experiences, the literature suggests that both experiences promote equal levels of student learning.

OBJECTIVES

We compared academic performance of students enrolled in a Human Anatomy and Physiology II course with hands-on laboratory to that of students enrolled in the same course but with online laboratory by examining several measures of student learning.

DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS

This was a quasi-experimental study of undergraduate students aged 18-22 years enrolled in equivalent human anatomy and physiology courses on two separate campuses of a private research university in the United States. One course was associated with hands-on laboratory while the other course was associated with online laboratory.

METHODS

The Human Anatomy and Physiology Society standardized exam was administered as a pre-test/post-test assessment at the beginning and end of the academic year. Lecture exam scores, laboratory exam scores, and overall course grades served as measures of student learning. Comparisons of student performance between hands-on and online laboratory groups were made using t-tests.

RESULTS

Student performance on the pre-test and overall course grades from Human Anatomy and Physiology (part I) were not different between groups. While students in the online lab group did earn significantly higher Human Anatomy and Physiology (part II) course grades, their performance on lecture exams, laboratory exams, and the post-test assessment was not different.

CONCLUSIONS

Students in a pre-licensure prerequisite course with online laboratory demonstrated mastery of basic science concepts equal to or better than students in the same course with traditional hands-on laboratory. Online laboratory experiences may represent an appropriate, accessible and cost-effective teaching modality for pre-licensure coursework.

Conjunctional Concepts: The Conceptual Teaching Technique in Biology Classes

Conceptual teaching relies on concepts in conjunction with a bigger conceptual category (or categories). Revealing and using conceptual conjunctions in the science classroom means teaching conceptually. To make conceptual teaching more accessible to biology instructors, a three-concept model was described to be used during a lecture. This model has allowed the author to develop a relatively simple method that starts with an active concept or concepts, then introduces conjunctional and supporting concepts to relate the content to other concepts and relevant real-world applications. This method is intended to help instructors in preparing to teach biological concepts conceptually, in order to foster an enduring understanding of biological principles in their students.

Juliana JR, Stovall DB, Whittington R, Zhong M, Ballen CJ. Context Matters: Social Psychological Factors That Underlie Academic Performance across Seven Institutions

To enhance equity and diversity in undergraduate biology, recent research in biology education focuses on best practices that reduce learning barriers for all students and improve academic performance. However, the majority of current research into student experiences in introductory biology takes place at large, predominantly White institutions. To foster contextual knowledge in biology education research, we harnessed data from a large research coordination network to examine the extent of academic performance gaps based on demographic status across institutional contexts and how two psychological factors, test anxiety and ethnicity stigma consciousness, may mediate performance in introductory biology. We used data from seven institutions across three institution types: 2-year community colleges, 4-year inclusive institutions (based on admissions selectivity; hereafter, inclusive), and 4-year selective institutions (hereafter, selective). In our sample, we did not observe binary gender gaps across institutional contexts, but found that performance gaps based on underrepresented minority status were evident at inclusive and selective 4-year institutions, but not at community colleges. Differences in social psychological factors and their impacts on academic performance varied substantially across institutional contexts. Our findings demonstrate that institutional context can play an important role in the mechanisms underlying performance gaps.

Brief Training and Intensive Mentoring Guide Postdoctoral Scholars to Student-Centered Instruction

The Science Teaching Experience Program-Working in Science Education (STEP-WISE) provides teaching experience for postdoctoral scholars holding full-time research appointments. Through a combination of mentorship, deliberate practice, and feedback, the postdocs learn and apply inclusive, evidence-based pedagogies. STEP-WISE is integrated into postdocs' demanding schedules and is sustainable for institutions to run. Here, we assess the effectiveness of STEP-WISE. We used the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM instruction to quantify instructor and student behaviors in 20 STEP-WISE class sessions from seven courses designed and taught by postdocs in the program. We found that all of the postdocs used student-centered teaching strategies. Also, using a design-based research framework, we studied the program to identify the salient components of its design. Four interconnected key elements contribute to the program's success: 1) two training sessions, 2) a precourse meeting with the mentor, 3) implementation of active-learning strategies with support, and 4) debriefing with the mentor after each class session. STEP-WISE is a replicable model to support postdocs seeking training and experience in evidence-based teaching practices geared to improving undergraduate education and transforming pedagogical practice. We conclude that high-impact teaching can be learned early in a career with streamlined training and intensive mentoring.

A Framework of College Student Buy-in to Evidence-Based Teaching Practices in STEM: The Roles of Trust and Growth Mindset

Evidence-based teaching practices (EBPs) foster college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students' engagement and performance, yet our knowledge of what contributes to the effectiveness of these practices is less established. We propose a framework that links four social-cognitive variables-students' trust in their instructors, growth mindset, buy-in to instructional practices, and course engagement-to long-standing desired student outcomes of academic performance and intent to persist in science. This framework was tested in classrooms identified as having a high level of EBP implementation with a multi-institutional sample of 2102 undergraduates taught by 14 faculty members. Results indicate that the buy-in framework is a valid representation of college students' learning experiences within EBP contexts overall as well as across underrepresented student groups. In comparison to students' level of growth mindset, students' trust in their instructors was more than twice as predictive of buy-in to how the course was being taught, suggesting that students' views of their instructors are more associated with thriving in a high-EBP course environment than their views of intelligence. This study contributes to the dialogue on transforming undergraduate STEM education by providing a validated student buy-in framework as a lens to understand how EBPs enhance student outcomes.

Evidence-based teaching practices correlate with increased exam performance in biology

Evidence-based teaching practices are associated with improved student academic performance. However, these practices encompass a wide range of activities and determining which type, intensity or duration of activity is effective at improving student exam performance has been elusive. To address this shortcoming, we used a previously validated classroom observation tool, Practical Observation Rubric to Assess Active Learning (PORTAAL) to measure the presence, intensity, and duration of evidence-based teaching practices in a retrospective study of upper and lower division biology courses. We determined the cognitive challenge of exams by categorizing all exam questions obtained from the courses using Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Domains. We used structural equation modeling to correlate the PORTAAL practices with exam performance while controlling for cognitive challenge of exams, students’ GPA at start of the term, and students’ demographic factors. Small group activities, randomly calling on students or groups to answer questions, explaining alternative answers, and total time students were thinking, working with others or answering questions had positive correlations with exam performance. On exams at higher Bloom’s levels, students explaining the reasoning underlying their answers, students working alone, and receiving positive feedback from the instructor also correlated with increased exam performance. Our study is the first to demonstrate a correlation between the intensity or duration of evidence-based PORTAAL practices and student exam performance while controlling for Bloom’s level of exams, as well as looking more specifically at which practices correlate with performance on exams at low and high Bloom’s levels. This level of detail will provide valuable insights for faculty as they prioritize changes to their teaching. As we found that multiple PORTAAL practices had a positive association with exam performance, it may be encouraging for instructors to realize that there are many ways to benefit students’ learning by incorporating these evidence-based teaching practices.

Reimagining the Introductory Math Curriculum for Life Sciences Students

Calculus is typically one of the first college courses encountered by science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. Calculus often presents major challenges affecting STEM student persistence, particularly for students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM. For life sciences majors, calculus courses may not offer content that is relevant to biological systems or connect with students' interests in biology. We developed a transformative approach to teaching college-level math, using a dynamical systems perspective that focuses first on demonstrating why students need math to understand living systems, followed by providing quantitative and computational skills, including concepts from calculus, that students need to build and analyze mathematical models representing these systems. We found that students who complete these new math courses perform better in subsequent science courses than their counterparts who take traditional calculus courses. We also provide evidence that the new math curriculum positively impacts students' academic performance, with data that show narrowing of the achievement gap, based on students' math grades, between student subgroups in the new math courses. Moreover, our results indicate that students' interest in the concepts and skills critical to the quantitative preparation of 21st-century life sciences majors increases after completing the new contextualized math curriculum.

Look Who's Talking: Teaching and Discourse Practices across Discipline, Position, Experience, and Class Size in STEM College Classrooms

Students are more likely to learn in college science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) classrooms when instructors use teacher discourse moves (TDMs) that encourage student engagement and learning. However, although teaching practices are well studied, TDMs are not well understood in college STEM classrooms. In STEM courses at a minority-serving institution (MSI; n = 74), we used two classroom observation protocols to investigate teaching practices and TDMs across disciplines, instructor types, years of teaching experience, and class size. We found that instructors guide students in active learning activities, but they use authoritative discourse approaches. In addition, chemistry instructors presented more than biology instructors. Also, teaching faculty had relatively high dialogic, interactive discourse, and neither years of faculty teaching experience nor class size had an impact on teaching practices or TDMs. Our results have implications for targeted teaching professional development efforts across instructor and course characteristics to improve STEM education at MSIs.

Active learning: "Hands-on" meets "minds-on"

[Figure: see text].