Benefits of a College STEM Faculty Development Initiative: Instructors Report Increased and Sustained Implementation of Research-Based Instructional Strategies.

The Summer Institutes on Scientific Teaching (SI) is a faculty development workshop in which science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instructors, particularly from biology, are trained in the Scientific Teaching (ST) pedagogy. While participants have generally reported positive experiences, we aimed to assess how the SI affected participants' teaching practices. Building on a previously developed taxonomy of ST practices, we surveyed SI participants from the 2004-2014 SI classes regarding specific ST practices. Participants' self-reported use and implementation of ST practices increased immediately after SI attendance as well as over a longer time frame, suggesting that implementation persisted and even increased with time. However, instructors reported implementation gains for some practices more than others. The practices with the highest gains were engaging students in their own learning, using learning goals in course design, employing formative assessment, developing overarching course learning goals, representing science as a process, and facilitating group discussion activities. We propose that the ST practices showing the greatest gains may serve as beneficial focal points for professional development programs, while practices with smaller gains may require modified dissemination approaches or support structures.

Perceived supports and evidence-based teaching in college STEM.

BACKGROUND: Evidence-based teaching, such as active learning, is associated with increases in student learning and engagement. Although many faculty are beginning to adopt innovative practices, traditional lecture-based teaching tends to dominate college science education. What are the factors associated with faculty's decision to incorporate evidence-based teaching? While there are known barriers that limit adoption of evidence-based practices in science classrooms (e.g., lack of time, student resistance), the present work reveals that instructors' perceptions of supports (e.g., access to teaching resources, encouragement from colleagues) shows a stronger relationship to instructors' use of evidence-based teaching. RESULTS: These results come from a uniquely large dataset of college science faculty and instructors from across the USA (n = 584), who received training in evidence-based teaching. Multiple linear regression analyses of the relationship among perceived supports, barriers, and reported implementation of evidence-based practices showed that instructors report greater implementation when they perceive more social, personal, and resource supports even when barriers are also indicated as present. CONCLUSION: Faculty's perceived supports, not perceived barriers, are most strongly related to their reported implementation of evidence-based teaching. These findings suggest relevant stakeholders devote increased attention identifying and building the factors that promote evidence-based teaching in addition to reducing what inhibits it.