Research into Scientific Teaching Diane Ebert-May Department of Plant Biology Michigan State University

Team at MSU Rett Weber - Plant Biology (postdoctoral researcher) Deb Linton - Plant Biology (postdoctoral researcher) Duncan Sibley - Geology Doug Luckie - Physiology Scott Harrison - Microbiology (graduate student) Tammy Long - Plant Biology Heejun Lim - Chemistry Education Rob Pennock - Philosophy Charles Ofria - Engineering Rich Lenski - Microbiolgy Janet Batzli - Plant Biology [U of Wisconsin]

Faculty development

Scientific Teaching Scientific teaching involves active learning strategies to engage students in the process of science.

Research Questions 1. Have faculty changed their teaching? 2. Has student learning improved in response to the changes in teaching?

Faculty Cohorts FIRST II - NSF –Multiple workshops over 4 years –Teams of faculty –All types of institutions - community colleges to research universities Summer Institutes (SI) - HHMI –1 week-long workshop –Teams of faculty –Research extensive universities

Design Research InstitutionsFaculty FIRST II10x 2 = 20 SI x 2 = 20 SI x 2 = 20 Total30 Institutions 60 Faculty

Sampling Time-line Semester starts Faculty Survey RTOP 1*RTOP 2 Semester Ends Semester 1 Semester starts Faculty Survey RTOP 3RTOP 4 Semester Ends Semester 2 *RTOP during a TL Unit

Path Model InstitutionCourse Data Professional Development Time TL Unit Assess Type RTOP Self Report Faculty Demographic Teaching Pedagogy Class Faculty Institution Hierarchical Levels

Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) Classroom observational instrument Assesses degree of active instruction based on constructivist theory. Reliable (r 2 >0.9) (Lawson et al 2002) Correlated to student normalized gains (r = ) (Lawson et al. 2003)

Subscales of RTOP Lesson Design and Implementation Content Propositional Procedural Classroom Culture Communicative Interactions Student/Teacher Relationships

Some Expected Results How does class size impact teaching practice? How does the research:teaching ratio affect change in teaching? How does teaching experience influence change? What effect does the institution have on faculty change?

Does class size impact teaching practice? Institution Professional Development Time TL Unit Assess Type ‡ RTOP Faculty Demographic Teaching Pedagogy Class Faculty Institution Hierarchical Levels *class size, percent attendance † survey of instructional practices ‡ type of questions Course Data* Self Report †

Does teaching experience influence faculty change? Institution Professional Development TL Unit RTOP Class Faculty Institution Hierarchical Levels *Years teaching, rank † Teaching knowledge, confidence and experience Course Data Time Assess Type Faculty Demographic* Teaching Pedagogy † Self Report

Does teaching:research ratio affect change? Institution Professional Development Time TL Unit Assess Type RTOP Faculty Demographic* Class Faculty Institution Hierarchical Levels *Percent time research/teaching Course Data Self Report Teaching Pedagogy

How does the institution influence change? Professional Development Time TL Unit Assess Type RTOP Faculty Demographic* Class Faculty Institution Hierarchical Levels Teaching Pedagogy Institution † *Faculty rating of institutional support † Carnegie classification, # of undergrad students Self Report Course Data

Has student learning responded to professional development? From T. Derting (NSF CCLI Final Report)

Has student learning responded to professional development? From Derting (NSF Final Report)