A Resource of Resources for STEM Educators

Abstract

15:fe8, 1 H ave you been wondering how to successfully implement group work? Or what to do to dramatically reduce student resistance when students become the ones who are primarily accountable for their learning? Concrete, practical solutions to these and many, many more questions are found in Teaching and Learning STEM. To answer such questions before publication of this resource, educators were required to inter-pret and apply pedagogical principles such as scientific teaching (Handelsman et al., 2004, 2006) and backward design (Wiggins and McTighe, 2005), which added to the workload of improving courses. Additionally, practical advice about active learning had to be obtained by scouring the literature, networking with master educators, and/ or identifying and garnering the resources to attend teaching development workshops such as the Summer Institutes (Yale Center for Teaching and Learning, 2016). Per-haps a few reading this review were even lucky enough to take part in a seminar offered by Felder and Brent. This book is, to date, the ultimate guide for designing courses in a manner that takes advantage of the ways students learn best. The evidence-based methods com-piled and communicated accessibly in this volume have been shown to improve per-formance across diverse populations of students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines for many coveted outcomes without loss of cov-erage of key concepts. Those outcomes include problem-solving skills, professional skills (communication, creative thinking, and self-directed learning), and teamwork skills (cooperativity and resolving conflicts). Rather than overloading students with facts and weakly motivating students with assurances that the importance of those facts will become clear in time, Felder and Brent frame the goal of education as the need to prepare students to be successful STEM professionals or STEM-literate citi-zens. This guide offers a plethora of techniques and practical advice to apply when educators begin using more learner-centered methods in their courses. Throughout this " metaresource, " or resource of resources, we are assured that pedagogical reform is possible. Best practices have emerged from empirical scrutiny, and our own teaching can be improved by considering even small shifts in perspective from traditional teach-er-centered methods to proven learner-centered methods. Indeed, Felder and Brent argue convincingly that change can take place incremen-tally. These experts advise that it is completely acceptable to venture slowly into unfa-miliar waters, which offers solace to wary educators. Even those who are practiced or experts themselves in active learning, flipped classrooms, or group work are sure to benefit by the creative suggestions offered. In my own case, trained as a disci-pline-based education researcher, I nevertheless extracted two broad benefits. First, while I recognized some of the learner-centered pieces presented in this guide, many were new to me, and it was extremely helpful to see their connections to familiar strategies made explicit. Second, simply by engaging with the authors' perspectives