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Appendix A: Commissioned Papers
Pages 87-126

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From page 87...
... Appendix A Commissioned Papers 87
From page 89...
... and in the surrounding community colleges. The primary reform mechanism has been summer workshops in which college faculty experience reformed teaching methods and then attempt to implement those methods in their courses.
From page 90...
... And what effect, if any, does the use of reforme(1 methods have on student achievement? The following sections (lescribe evaluation efforts in five courses anti a brief evaluation of the teaching methods used by some recent graduates as they begin their elementary, middle, or high school teaching careers.
From page 91...
... This result supports the claim that reformed teaching methods promote higher achievement. Figure A-1 shows instructor RTOP scores and normalized gains on the test of physics concepts for ACED (experimental)
From page 92...
... During the semester, each instructor was evaluate(1 at least twice using the RTOP. Instructor mean RTOP scores anti student posttest scores on the conceptun(lerstan(ling test were calculate(1 for each section.
From page 93...
... A very strong positive correlation was also found between instructors' mean RTOP scores and student posttest number APPENDIX A sense scores (r = 0.92, p < 0.0011. These results further support the claim that reforme(1 teaching methods improve student achievement.
From page 94...
... Participant 1 Participant2 Participants Fundamentals of Physical Science Course Section Control 1 Control 2 FIGURE A-1 Instructor RTOP scores and normalized gains on the test of physics concepts for ACEPT and control sections of PHS 110. SOURCE: Lawson et al.
From page 95...
... based, TA mean RTOP scores varied from 42 to 90 (inter-rater reliability of r = 0.90, p < 0.0011. Importantly, TA mean RTOP scores correlated significantly with normalized gains in student reasoning (r = 0.70, p < 0.051.
From page 96...
... In addition to using reformed methods to teach the preservice teachers about those reformed methods, the course attempts to help students develop their reasoning skills and improve their understanding of the nature of science (NOS)
From page 97...
... substantial gains in NOS understanding depend, at least in part, on students' developmental level. Although current research on this last point is preliminary, a plausible prediction is that becoming a skille inquiry teacher requires a(lvance(1 reasoning skills anti a goo(1 un(lerstan(ling of the nature of science.
From page 98...
... 98 More recently, we have found that ACEPT-influence(1 high school biology teachers have significantly higher RTOP scores than a group of control teachers. Further, their students demonstrated significantly higher achievement in terms of scientific reasoning, NOS understanding, and understanding of biology concepts than students of control teachers (teacher n = 2S, student n = i,1151.
From page 99...
... that explores the relationship between RTOP scores and student achievement over a much larger number and diver sity of courses. The present evaluation indicates that when preservice teachers encounter reformed instruction as undergraduates they are more likely to incorporate those reforms into their own teaching practices after graduation.
From page 100...
... . Reformed teaching observation protocol (RTOP)
From page 101...
... In particular, I thank Steve Ackerman, Josefina Arce, Jean-Pierre Bayard, Aaron grower, Ann Burgess, Diane Ebert-May, Art Ellis, Fiona Goodchild, Curt Hieggelke, Gretchen Kalonji, Elaine Seymour, ferry Uhl, and John Wright for their insightful comments. I also thank Denice Denton and John Moore for their support for the ideas presented in this document.
From page 102...
... Or, the process of reviewing this set of characteristics of successful STEM education innovators might help a faculty member realize that some of her teaching practices, while unusual in her department, are common among innovators across the country. ~ also reasoned that knowledge of these characteristics might enable faculty anti other change agents to recognize others who have these characteristics, and who need a word of encouragement, or a new skill or contact in order to keep the faith, or, better yet, to really flourish.
From page 103...
... ~ organized the emergent characteristics of SfEM faculty innovators into topic areas pertaining to general personality features, attitudes and habits of interpersonal interaction, learning anti teaching practices, processes for changing one's own teaching practices, processes for fostering change in the teaching practices of communities, and the characteristic of "peripheral vision." In some places, provide references to work in the emerging "learning sciences" literature that presents many of these same characteristics as key to effective learning situations, anti inclu(le some of the responses of those listed in Box A-4 to these themes and to earlier (1rafts of this paper. COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF STEM EDUCATION FACULTY INNOVATORS Genera!
From page 105...
... By contrast, ~ believe that unless a person has the characteristic attitudes and habits of interpersonal interaction discussed below, they wail not be in this group of successful SfEM education innovators. For brevity, ~ list these features as follows: · Their identity as a scholar does not depend on placing themselves above other faculty members, academic staff, graduate students or undergraduates (Wilshire, 19901.
From page 106...
... Teaching Practices ~ turn now to learning and teaching practices that are common to the successful SIEM education faculty innovators whom ~ know. ~ would venture that this set of characteristics also constitutes a basic requirement for the people ~ describe here, but my hunch is that, compared to the characteristics listed above pertaining to attitudes anti habits of interpersonal interaction, those listed below can more easily be (levelope with experience.
From page 107...
... For example, John Wright finds that his best ideas in his research as well as teaching come from students. · These innovators hold the conviction that good teaching demands ongoing creative effort, believe that it is important to "understand understanding" (Wiggins and McTighe, 1998)
From page 108...
... Thus, while fully expecting them to eventually master difficult and Several of the CUSE workshop participants pointed out that, in fact, most successful scien tists approach the undergraduate and graduate students who work in their labs or on their projects in this way. We agreed, however, that STEM education innovators are distinguished from other scientists in that they believe that not just "their own," but the vast majority of the students in their undergraduate lectures and laboratories will rise to these challenges.
From page 109...
... Instead, they focus their energies on the business of doing what they can to address these problems. · They take an experimental that is, an intentional, systematic, and Smith regard to this point, Diane Ebert-May noted that successful senior innovators nonetheless devote substantial time to helping younger scholars learn how to redirect their energies from their sphere of concern into their sphere of influence.
From page 110...
... saw no case in which the group consiste(1 of a faculty (1eveloper anti an individual STEM faculty member. · Last, ~ would list an eventual turn to the larger community of educators as a characteristic that these STEM faculty share with regar(1 to how they go about making change in their own courses.
From page 111...
... Processes for Fostering Change in the Teaching Practices of Communities Essentially all of the STEM education faculty innovators about whom ~ generalize here are taking leadership roles in order to foster change in their departAPPENDIX A meets, specific disciplines, and/or in SfEM education overall. They are similar not only in their willingness to play these roles, but also with respect to their basic reason for doing so: they are committed to helping others benefit from the innovations in teaching and learning about which they have learned.
From page 112...
... , Lillian McDermott (physics, University of ~2 Washington) , Curt Hieggelke (physical sciences, Toliet Junior College)
From page 113...
... Vision Before conclu(ling, ~ a(l(1 a characteristic about which Elaine Seymour reminded me. Upon reading a draft of this document, she wrote: Sparker Palmer makes this point at some length in his piece on "a movement approach to educational reform" (1992~.
From page 114...
... Pursuing this point, Lillian McDermott noted that using peripheral vision is a great source of intellectual excitement, a fascinating way to learn and in particular, an excellent way to learn about teaching. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS This set of characteristics share(1 by STEM faculty who are largely successfu} at effecting change (at least in their own courses)
From page 115...
... They also pointe(1 out a number of key opportunities that current circumstances afford SfEM education innovators, such as market pressures for more effective and efficient learning that are experienced by, for example, medical and business schools (Zemsky) ; and a climate of trust among faculty, gradu ate stu d e nts, an d u n d e rgradu ate s in STEM classrooms (Seymour)
From page 116...
... Final evaluation report on the pilot Wisconsin Emerging Scholars Program, 19931994 (vol.
From page 117...
... `e instructional reform. Paper presented at Criteria and Benchmarks for Increased Learning from Undergraduate STEM Instruction Workshop, Committee on Undergraduate Science Education, National Research Council, Washington, DC.
From page 118...
... DEFINING THE CHALLENGE Kerr's observation also suggests the near impossibility of the assignment ~ have accepted: to explore "some of the options that university a(lministratorspresi(lents, (leans, (lepartment chairshave at their (lisposal to encourage anti support their faculty in instructional reform." What Kerr anti his appeal to the historic university make clear is that change in the academy is slow, probably imperceptible, and not likely to be the result of the strategies of in(livi(lual presidents, (leans, or (lepartment chairs.
From page 119...
... Even the very words that frame this session renect the problems nearly every president, (lean, and department chair face: they cannot enforce change but merely explore "options...to encourage and support their faculty in instructional reform." At the University of Pennsylvania, Nichole Rowles is completing a dissertation (2003) that wall update Cohen and March's application of the garbage can mode!
From page 120...
... " An(1 if the president or (lean says, "Because we nee(1 to pay attention to the market in order to enroll the kinds of students we want to teach," the natural response is: "But markets (lo not know what we know." Actually there is a better rejoinder which faculty are not likely to deliver, largely because, as a matter of principle, they sel(lom pay attention to the workings of the market for undergraduate education. What those of us who study those markets know is that there is no market for good teaching anti that is my thir(1 proposition.
From page 121...
... They suggest the necessary conditions that an innovative president, dean, or department chair APPENDIX A might exploit in pursuit of instructional reform. The first is medical education leading to the M.D.
From page 122...
... The result across this set of select business schools was a rush to introduce educational experimentation and reform a development that eventually came to energize business faculty across a wide spectrum of schools. My last three examples are (lrawn from the world of undergraduate science and math instruction.
From page 123...
... Studio Physics was able to win adherents because it could prove not only that it was more efficient in terms of the resources it consumed, but also that it produced as good or better results than teaching physics the old-fashioned way. Collegiate mathematics instruction provides the same pair of lessons: that a disciplinary commitment is required, paired with a way to ensure the discipline that alternate ways of teaching produce measurable improvement.
From page 124...
... The first is that the guild itself must fee} threatened before it is ready to change. No amount of talking or trying to explain that instructional reform is "good for you" is likely to substitute for the cumulative experience of witnessing the marginalization of what you consider to be important.
From page 125...
... · Changing the tenure rules only serves as a long-term strategy when the goal is curricular and instructional reform. · Pick your targets, spend your money.


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