Scientific Teaching: Perspectives from an Early Career Teacher Lisa R. Wilken Assistant Professor Biological & Agricultural Engineering Kansas State University “Tell me and I’ll forget; Show me and I may remember; Involve me and I’ll understand.” -Chinese proverb

1) Backward design facilitates learning: Teach as if it were a science. Learning goals and outcomes Diversity and inclusion Learning activity Assessment Scientific Teaching Be inclusive Whoever does the work, learns. Handelsman, J. et al. 2007. Scientific Teaching. W.H. Freeman and Co. New York, NY.

1) Backward design facilitates learning Identify desired results (learning goals) Determine evidence for learning (outcomes and assessments) Plan learning experiences and instruction (activities) “Objectives (learning goals) are important to establish in a pedagogical interchange so that teachers and students alike understand the purpose of that interchange. Teachers can benefit from using frameworks to organize objectives Organizing objectives helps to clarify objectives for themselves and for students.” Having an organized set of objectives helps teachers to: “plan and deliver appropriate instruction”; “design valid assessment tasks and strategies”;and “ensure that instruction and assessment are aligned with the objectives.” Handelsman, J. et al. 2007. Scientific Teaching. W.H. Freeman and Co. New York, NY.

2) Whoever does the work, learns... Focus on difficult concepts, common misconceptions, and/or fundamentals 34% of students fail introductory STEM courses in traditional lectures For most, failure results in dropping out of STEM majors entirely Closes the achievement gap between underrepresented students and their classmates In traditional lecture….that is the instructor…active learning classroom shifts to students Grades improve by half a letter grade with active learning Best way to learn….is to teach a course… 33.8% failure rate of traditional lectures, 21.8% under active learning must read, write, discuss, or be engaged in solving problems important, to be actively involved, students must engage in such higher-order thinking tasks as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation each faculty member should engage in self-reflection, exploring personal willingness to experiment with alternative approaches \Can be most difficult to decide what concepts are most important to convert from traditional lecture to active learning. Students are actively using the knowledge from that day. Everybody does better with active classroom….disproportionate benefit for students who are underprepared when they get to college!! Freeman, S. et al. 2013. PNAS. 111(23): 8410-8415.

2) Whoever does the work, learns... If goal is for students to recall, memorize, define, etc., lecture may be adequate If goal is to have students analyze, apply, or evaluate new problems based on concepts, active learning is more effective

3) Be inclusive… www.culturalorganizing.org Each student will experience the classroom differently from everyone else, prepares students more effectively for the global community, more creative Treating everyone the same is ignoring the inherent diversity in every situation www.culturalorganizing.org

3) Be inclusive Strategies Define roles with group Apply jigsaw Various methods for data analysis Apply jigsaw Provides essential part to each team member Reduces anxiety and improves feeling of inclusion Encourages listening, engagement, and empathy Integrate culturally diverse and relevant examples Wait time (1.5 s to 3-5 s) Tanner, K. 2013. CBE Life Sci Educ. Fall; 12(3): 322–331. https://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 1, 2, 3, and 4 of reading assignment (each different part).. Or alternatively, could be same reading then use different forms of expression to summarize (written summary, drawing summary, connecting with prior class topics or knowledge, key points/take home message/write questions) Graph, draw, use words to explain data, etc. Part 4

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Address the challenges… Classrooms are not suitable! Address the challenges… Takes too much class time! Set expectations early Emphasize that work is required to learn Provide justification through data Consider content vs. understanding Justification through data….Students in classes with active learning were 1.5 times less likely to fail than students in classes with traditional lecturing

Summary Backward design facilitates learning. Teach as if it were a science. Whoever does the work, learns. Activities tap into existing pathways, integrate and connect concepts, and provide experiential learning Be inclusive. Take proactive approach when designing course materials treating students in a fair -- but not equal -- way works treat them in ways that are most appropriate to their needs

Acknowledgements Ruth Dyer and Kansas State Office of the Provost Summer Institute for Scientific Teaching (Northstar, University of Minnesota) sponsored by HHMI, NSF, Helmsley Foundation