Abstract
Research at the secondary and postsecondary levels has clearly demonstrated the critical role that individual and contextual characteristics play in instructors’ decision to adopt educational innovations. Although recent research has shed light on factors influencing the teaching practices of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty, it is still not well understood how unique departmental environments impact faculty adoption of evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs) within the context of a single institution. In this study, we sought to characterize the communication channels utilized by STEM faculty, as well as the contextual and individual factors that influence the teaching practices of STEM faculty at the departmental level. Accordingly, we collected survey and observational data from the chemistry, biology, and physics faculty at a single large research-intensive university in the USA. We then compared the influencing factors experienced by faculty in these different departments to their instructional practices. Analyses of the survey data reveal disciplinary differences in the factors influencing adoption of EBIPs. In particular, the physics faculty (n = 15) had primarily student-centered views about teaching and experienced the most positive contextual factors toward adoption of EBIPs. At the other end of the spectrum, the chemistry faculty (n = 20) had primarily teacher-centered views and experienced contextual factors that hindered the adoption of student-centered practices. Biology faculty (n = 25) fell between these two groups. Classroom observational data reflected these differences: The physics classrooms were significantly more student-centered than the chemistry classrooms. This study demonstrates that disciplinary differences exist in the contextual factors teaching conceptions that STEM faculty experience and hold, even among faculty within the same institution. Moreover, it shows that these differences are associated to the level of adoption of student-centered teaching practices. This work has thus identified the critical need to carefully characterize STEM faculty’s departmental environment and conceptions about teaching before engaging in instructional reform efforts, and to adapt reform activities to account for these factors. The results of this study also caution the overgeneralization of findings from a study focused on one type of STEM faculty in one environment to all STEM faculty in any environment.
Highlights
Research at the secondary and postsecondary levels has clearly demonstrated the critical role that individual and contextual characteristics play in instructors’ decision to adopt educational innovations
In this study, we are interested in characterizing the level of evidence-based instructional practice (EBIP) awareness, the types of instructional practices, and the factors influencing teaching among faculty from the departments of biology, chemistry, and physics at one research-intensive institution
Disciplinary differences in the awareness and adoption of EBIPs among biology, chemistry, and physics faculty Awareness of EBIPs First, we sought to establish the level of awareness of EBIPs among the chemistry, biology, and physics faculty participating in the study
Summary
Research at the secondary and postsecondary levels has clearly demonstrated the critical role that individual and contextual characteristics play in instructors’ decision to adopt educational innovations. Calls to reform instructional practices in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses at the undergraduate level have multiplied over the last decade in the USA (Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University 1998; National Research Council 1999, 2003, 2011, 2012; National Science Foundation 1996; President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology 2012; Project Kaleidoscope 2002, 2006; Rothman and Narum 1999) These calls have been prompted due to insufficient uptake by instructors teaching STEM courses of the results produced by discipline-based education researchers (DBER). Numerous initiatives in the USA have been developed to attempt to address this research-practice gap (e.g., American Association of Universities 2011; Executive Office of the President of the United States 2012) These initiatives often focus on transforming the instructional practices of STEM faculty by raising faculty’s awareness of evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs) (Handelsman et al 2004; Handelsman et al 2006; National Research Council 2011, 2012) and training faculty to implement them. This study addresses aspects of this gap by building on a growing set of studies that focus on characterizing faculty’s knowledge of EBIPs, their instructional practices, as well as their perceived barriers to instructional innovation
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