Transforming Undergraduate STEM Education Supporting Equitable and Effective Teaching (2025) / Chapter Skim
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4 Principles for Equitable and Effective Teaching of Undergraduate STEM Education
Pages 65-90

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From page 65...
... Subsequent chapters describe how academic units and institutions can support this kind of instruction and facilitate implementation of approaches that are based on the Principles. THE PRINCIPLES As noted in Chapter 1, a key commitment that informs the committee's vision for equitable and effective teaching is that student learning must be at the center.
From page 66...
... Also of note is that there is no requirement to immediately implement all of the Principles together at first; some instructors may find it more feasible to focus on a couple as an initial entry point and gradually incorporate additional Principles over time. The seven Principles for Equitable and Effective Teaching are1 Principle 1: Students need opportunities to actively engage in disciplinary learning Principle 2: Students' diverse interests, goals, knowledge, and experiences can be leveraged to enhance learning Principle 3: STEM learning involves affective and social dimensions Principle 4: Identity and sense of belonging shape STEM teaching and learning Principle 5: Multiple forms of data can provide evidence to inform improvement Principle 6: Flexibility and responsiveness to situational and contextual factors support student learning Principle 7: Intentionality and transparency create more equitable opportunities 1 In this and subsequent chapters we often refer back to the Principles presented in this chapter to illustrate how they are relevant to the topics of later chapters.
From page 67...
... nd external stakeho itu tions a lder Inst s pa rtments, and teams of , de inst ruc i cula s a n d in stru c tor rr u rs e to rs s Cu Co Students need Intentionality and opportunities to transparency create actively engage more equitable in disciplinary and opportunities interdisciplinary learning Flexibility and Students' diverse responsiveness interests, goals, prior to situational and Equitable and knowledge, and contextual factors effective STEM experiences can be support student leveraged to enhance learning teaching and learning learning Multiple forms of STEM learning data can provide involves affective and evidence to inform social dimensions improvement Identity and sense of belonging shape STEM teaching and learning FIGURE 4-1 Principles Diagram representing the system offor Equitable undergraduate and STEM Effective education Teaching with Principles in undergraduate for Equitable and Effective STEM Teachingeducation. surrounding the goal at the center.
From page 68...
... While the seven Principles are focused primarily on the course level, especially those where instructors can improve the student learning experience, it is important to note that they are not presented as the sole responsibility of instructors to individually adopt and implement. Instead, they are presented as standards and goals that instructors, with the support of academic units and institutions, can achieve through course (re)
From page 69...
... These approaches can help students learn what it means to think and reason like a scientist, technologist, engineer, or mathematician. Intellectual engagement in learning can occur in a variety of ways and in many different kinds of learning experiences.
From page 70...
... . Instructors, academic units, and institutions can create authentic and community-engaged learning experiences by integrating formal classroom work with practical experiences in ways that both benefit the community directly and enhance the student learning experience.
From page 71...
... . Recognizing the diverse assets that students bring to the learning environment, leveraging them, and helping students see the connections between their everyday lives and STEM concepts and practices promotes more equitable outcomes (Bayles & Morrell, 2018; Booker & CambellWhatley, 2018)
From page 72...
... Recognizing the diversity of experiences students bring to the learning environment, leveraging it, and making connections between students' everyday lives and STEM concepts and practices promotes more equitable outcomes (Bayles & Morrell, 2018; Booker & Campbell-Whatley, 2018)
From page 73...
... . Instructors can attend to the affective dimension of learning by recognizing the importance of motivation to learning; providing choice or autonomy in learning; creating learning experiences that students value; and supporting students' sense of control and autonomy (Bureau et al., 2022; Howard et al., 2021)
From page 74...
... . Instructors who recognize and respond to students' cognitive, affective, and physiological states can support enhanced student performance and create emotionally supportive and nonthreatening learning environments where students feel safe and valued (Bernard, 2010; Hen et al., 2022; Turner & Farooqi, 2017; Yee, 2019)
From page 75...
... Principle 4: Identity and Sense of Belonging Shape STEM Teaching and Learning Within the undergraduate STEM education system, each individual (e.g., students, instructors, administrators, support staff) has a multi-dimensional identity that influences the way they see the world, are treated, and interact with others.
From page 76...
... . As students participate in learning environments, they pick up on cues as to whether they are seen as valued and potentially successful participants in the STEM disciplines.
From page 77...
... In the presence of negative cues, historically excluded and marginalized students (e.g., racial and ethnic minority students, women studying STEM or other fields in which they are numerically underrepresented, students with high levels of financial stress, LGBTQIA+ students) not only experience the learning environment more negatively from an affective perspective -- showing lower levels of belonging, trust, and self-efficacy -- they also demonstrate lowered motivation, engagement, learning, and performance (e.g., Canning et al., 2019, 2022; Muenks et al., 2020)
From page 78...
... . Assessments of learning, data on student experiences and student outcomes, data on the progress of change efforts, and self-reflection on these multiple forms of information are all important tools in this regard and can support improved understanding of the challenges students and instructors are encountering and how well students are meeting the learning goals of a course or program (e.g., Grangeat et al., 2021)
From page 79...
... Formative and summative assessments are two different types of assessments that give different views of student progress. Formative assessment can be done informally during course sessions to provide the instructors with information on what topics need more attention or more formally to help students determine which topics they need to explore more deeply in order to achieve understanding and meet course learning goals (Kim et al., 2019)
From page 80...
... Formative and summative assessment can be done in varying ways that support active learning and equitable education experiences; formative assessments with timely feedback from the instructor can help improve student learning (Irons & Elkington, 2021; Morris et al., 2021) , while summative assessments that are designed based on the previously shared learning goals for the course can also contribute to equitable and effective learning experiences (Goss, 2022; Osler & Mansaray, 2014)
From page 81...
... Data are discussed at various points throughout this report as they are relevant to the topic under discussion; Chapter 9 particularly focuses on data and how institutions use data as they relate to teaching. When multiple types of data are used, one can better understand individual courses, course sequences, programs, majors, and other institutional activities; likewise, multiple types of assessment models can be used to measure student learning.
From page 82...
... In fact, a course structured around learning goals and assessments that are transparent (as described in Principle 1: Active engagement and Principle 7: Intentionality and transparency) allows for flexibility in support of those learning goals, without compromising the structures in place to support student achievement.
From page 83...
... Allowing for options in assignments, which allows students to iterate and improve as their understanding develops, can also make a course more accessible and enhance student learning. Some research suggests that attention to the time periods when classes are offered can increase retention rates and reduce the time to graduation by allowing students to enroll in an increased number of credit hours even as it better accommodates students' extracurricular activities, work, or family obligations (Mintz, 2024)
From page 84...
... This is taken up in more detail in Chapter 8. Principle 7: Intentionality and Transparency Create More Equitable Opportunities Intentionality in designing courses, both in terms of careful selection of learning goals and careful design of the course structures and policies, can improve student learning experiences.
From page 85...
... Explicitly informing students of policies and priorities can mitigate the negative effects of the "hidden curriculum" that frequently excludes first-generation students and those who are not well connected to campus communities and help students achieve their learning goals (Koutsouris et al., 2021; Rossouw & Frick, 2023; Winter & Cotton, 2012)
From page 86...
... Learning goals can encompass knowledge of disciplinary skills, concepts, and practices. Some courses, such as those in career and technical education programs, are primarily and intentionally designed to help students gain proficiency in technical applied skills, and they learn about the underlying disciplinary concepts in service of that goal.
From page 87...
... The following chapters explore how the Principles can inform changes at the classroom, academic unit, and institutional levels. SUMMARY This chapter presents a set of Principles for Equitable and Effective Teaching that can be applied across institution types and different course structures and modalities as instructors design equitable and effective learning experiences for students.
From page 88...
... Attend to and address cues that send negative messages about who can succeed in STEM. Principle 5: Multiple forms of data Use formative assessments to elicit student thinking can provide evidence to inform and gather information that allows the instructor to improvement.
From page 89...
... Increased awareness to these issues and additional research on their use in teaching could help improve student learning experiences. Conclusion 4.1: A set of Principles for Equitable and Effective Teach ing for undergraduate STEM education derived from the evidence on learning and teaching can inform the design and enactment of more equitable and effective pedagogical approaches.
From page 90...
... 90 TRANSFORMING UNDERGRADUATE STEM EDUCATION • Principle 5: Multiple forms of data can provide evidence to inform improvement • Principle 6: Flexibility and responsiveness to situational and contextual factors support student learning • Principle 7: Intentionality and transparency create more equi table opportunities


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