A Role for Postdocs in Undergraduate Education

Abstract

In his Editorial, “Galvanizing science departments” (4 September 2009, p. [1181][1]), C. Wieman described ongoing programs at University of Colorado, Boulder and University of British Columbia in Vancouver that are successfully implementing new effective, research-based teaching methods in several science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) departments. As Wieman points out, transformations in the STEM teaching culture at large research universities are sorely needed, but such institutional change is notoriously difficult to bring about. It is therefore worth a closer look at how these two programs work. Their success has been primarily due to the science education specialists Wieman mentions, who are called Science Teaching Fellows (STFs) in Boulder. It may not have been clear from the Editorial that these are postdocs. Most earned Ph.D.s in their respective science disciplines (not education), but developed strong interests in pedagogy and educational research during their training. One of their missions is to assist departmental faculty with the kinds of course transformation that Wieman describes. As postdocs in the discipline, they have the content knowledge required for effective development of educational materials, and they are not threatening to faculty, as outsiders with educational degrees might be. Their ability to effect faculty change derives from their familiarity with the educational research evidence, their enthusiasm and people skills, and the assistance they can offer in implementing new teaching approaches, which can be labor-intensive. The other mission for STFs is to gain science education training, which is uncommon within science departments and is valuable in light of the growing number of college and university science departments desiring permanent Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES) ([ 1 ][2], [ 2 ][3]). These individuals are discipline-based science faculty who make scholarly work in science education part of the fabric of the science disciplines themselves. SFES are undertaking efforts in the three science education arenas of undergraduate science education, K-12 science education, and discipline-based science education research, as well as in basic science research ([ 2 ][3]), furthering the current push to improve STEM education at all levels. The Boulder and Vancouver programs, unique to our knowledge, should be transferable to any institution that can provide strong, pedagogically informed leadership (preferably from within STEM departments) and financial support for STFs. Funding agencies and foundations could have a major impact on improving STEM education by supporting such postdoctoral positions, thereby enabling the replication of these programs at other universities and promoting the training of more SFES. 1. [↵][4] 1. S. D. Bush 2. et al ., CBE Life Sci. Educ. 5, 297 (2006). [OpenUrl][5][FREE Full Text][6] 2. [↵][7] 1. S. D. Bush 2. et al ., Science 322, 1795 (2008). 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