Cultivating evidence-based pedagogies in STEM education

Abstract

In this paper, we report the findings of a study that explored the changes in STEM faculty's approaches to teaching and understanding of student learning because of their participation in an ongoing STEM education project. This three-year project is funded by the department of education and aimed at cultivating evidence-based pedagogies in STEM undergraduate education at an Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in US. Four STEM faculty members who were the study participants designed evidence-based instructional strategies that were learner-centered and student-focused. The faculty implemented these strategies in their undergraduate courses and systematically collected data from their students to capture the impact of the newly implemented strategies on students' learning outcomes and experiences. With consultation from the learning scientists of the project, the faculty analyzed the student data collected and reported the findings of their research studies. In the following semester, the faculty participants iterated their design efforts. Participants' approaches to teaching and understanding of student learning were captured prior to the project activities and one year after their participation in the project activities. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Analyses revealed that faculty have improved their teaching approaches from a knowledge-centered and teacher-focused orientation to a learner-centered and student-focused orientation.