Active learning not associated with student learning in a random sample of college biology courses

Previous research has suggested that adding active learning to traditional college science lectures substantially improves student learning. However, this research predominantly studied courses taught by science education researchers, who are likely to have exceptional teaching expertise. The present study investigated introductory biology courses randomly selected from a list of prominent colleges and universities to include instructors representing a broader population. We examined the relationship between active learning and student learning in the subject area of natural selection. We found no association between student learning gains and the use of active-learning instruction. Although active learning has the potential to substantially improve student learning, this research suggests that active learning, as used by typical college biology instructors, is not associated with greater learning gains. We contend that most instructors lack the rich and nuanced understanding of teaching and learning that science education researchers have developed. Therefore, active learning as designed and implemented by typical college biology instructors may superficially resemble active learning used by education researchers, but lacks the constructivist elements necessary for improving learning.     

Subject matter and related pedagogical knowledge in teacher education

What kinds of knowledge do teachers need in order to be effective in their classrooms? This question has received much attention recently. This paper outlines a framework for teachers' knowledge, consisting of six major categories, namely: general liberal education, personal performance, subject matter, general pedagogical, subject matter specific pedagogical, and foundations of the teaching profession. Suggestions are provided on ways in which three of the categories, subject matter knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, and subject matter specific pedagogical knowledge can be dealt with in teacher education, especially at the preservice stage. These suggestions are based on actual courses which have been taught in various countries. The outcomes of one such course, which was taught and supervised by the author, are reported in terms of the students' perceptions of the knowledge they have acquired.     

Can teachers and mathematicians communicate productively? The case of division with remainder

Is it possible that a meeting of mathematicians and primary school teachers will be productive? This question became intriguing when one professor of mathematics initiated a professional development course for practicing primary school teachers, which he taught alongside a group of mathematics Ph.D. students. This report scrutinizes the uncommon meeting of these two communities, who have very different perspectives on mathematics and its teaching. The instructors had no experience in primary school teaching, and their professed goal was to deepen the teachers’ understanding of the mathematics they teach, while teachers were expecting the course to be pedagogically relevant for their teaching. Surprisingly, despite this mismatch in expectations, the course was considered a success by teachers and instructors alike. In our study, we analyzed a lesson on division with remainder for teachers of grades 3–6, taught by the professor. The framework used for the data analysis was mathematical discourse for teaching, a discursive adaptation of the well-known mathematical knowledge for teaching framework. Our analysis focuses on the nature of the interactions between the parties and the learning opportunities they afforded. We show how different concerns, which might have hindered communication, in fact fueled discussions, leading to understandings of the topic and its teaching that were new to all the parties involved. The findings point to a feasible model for professional development where mathematicians may contribute to the education of practicing teachers, while they are gaining new insights themselves.     

Teacher-generated and student-generated variability in teacher effectiveness ratings

The effects of teacher-generated and student-generated variability on student ratings of instructors were assessed using multiple regression procedures. Student variables included interest in the subject, reason for course enrollment, and educational level. Teacher variables were generated through dummy coding. Five different samples were studied: 24 classes taught by different instructors were divided into three samples of eight classes each, and 10 classes taught by the same five instructors were divided into two samples. Teacher-generated variability explained more of the variance in student ratings than did student-generated variability.     

Towards a Balanced Approach to Phonics Teaching

Phonics is currently a topic attracting wide interest and concern. While there is general agreement that the teaching of reading needs to include attention to phonics, the form this should take is disputed. Recently synthetic approaches have attracted much publicity. This article examines what synthetic phonics involves, contrasting this with a more balanced approach, in terms of the phonic content taught, the means by which the teaching is transacted and its relation to other aspects of learning to read.     

Learning to teach physics through inquiry: The lived experience of a graduate teaching assistant

This investigation examines the difficulties encountered by one graduate teaching assistant as she taught Physics for Elementary Education, a large‐enrollment, inquiry‐based science course taught at a public Midwestern university. The methodological approach of hermeneutic phenomenology served as the lens to investigate the research question, “What is the lived experience of a graduate teaching assistant as she learned to teach physics through inquiry to elementary education students?” We summarize the findings in terms of the blending of two conceptual frameworks: orientations to science teaching and professional identity. We learned that fundamental beliefs about the nature of science support certain orientations, and if those beliefs remain unchallenged, then the orientation is unlikely to change. Finally, we discuss implications for strategies that may assist college‐level instructors with changing their orientation to teaching science. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 584–602, 2004     

What university teachers teach and how they teach it

In this article we make three related arguments. The first isthat different teachers have different intentions concerning whatstudents will learn and consequently in their teaching they constitutethe topic or subject to be taught quite differently. The second is thata teacher's intentions concerning what it is that students should learnis closely aligned with a teacher's expectation of how students learnand how they can be helped to learn through teaching. The third is thatwhen teachers focus specifically on the teaching of a particular topic,within a specific context, there is a close relationship between theirintentions and their teaching practice. In this article we explore thesearguments through an empirical study which considers the different waysin which 26 university teachers intended to constitute a subject ortopic for their students to study, how they then taught the subject andsubsequently how consistent were their intentions and their practice.The analysis shows that when the context of teaching and learning istightly defined there is a clear relationship between a teacher'sintention and their practice. In particular, university teachers whoadopt more conceptual change and student-focussed approaches to teachingconstitute objects of study which are more relational and focus on thestudent's knowledge. Approaches which are more information transmissionand teacher-focussed constitute objects of study which are moremulti-structural and have a focus on knowledge which is as constitutedas being external to the student.     

The Force of Personality: Gottfried Keller's Educational Philosophy

We set out to identify the benefits and drawbacks of using more than one instructor to teach single section science courses at a large research university. Nine courses were investigated involving widely differing subjects and levels. Teaching models included: sequential teaching with two to six instructors each covering only their own modules, two teachers present in class at all times, and hybrids of these two models. A three-question survey was answered by 957 students and 17 instructors. Dominant advantages identified by both groups were variety of teaching style or perspectives and instructor expertise, with instructors being more likely to identify expertise as the primary advantage. Dominant disadvantages identified were adjustment to teaching style and expectations and confusion and communication issues. Data suggest that advantages are maximized and disadvantages minimized either in courses with two or more instructors interacting and collaborating in class or when special care is taken with coordination and collaboration if the course is sequentially taught. We conclude with specific recommendations to instructors and departments based on evidence from the data.     

眼科玻璃体手术带教在眼底病教学中的应用

为探讨眼科玻璃体手术带教在眼底病教学中的应用,随机抽取授课班级,将学生分为对照组和实验组。两组理论教学方式相同,均采用传统课堂讲授模式;见习教学对照组采用传统单纯理论讲解教学模式,实验组临床病例术中带教教学模式,教学结束后进行理论考试和病例分析考试,分析评估两种教学模式的效果。结果显示,实验组学生成绩显著高于对照组,二者差异有统计学意义。由此得出结论：眼科玻璃体手术带教是眼底病教学中一种有效值得推广的教学方式。     

Jail Pedagogy: Liberatory Education Inside A California Juvenile Detention Facility

Approximately 2 million juveniles are arrested each year. Half are sentenced to serve terms of incarceration. Although many scholars have written about teaching in detention facilities, few directly address how prisoners are being taught. This research explores the experiences, teaching philosophy, and practices of correctional educators. To learn what is taking place within these classrooms, I interviewed and observed instructors in 3 male juvenile detention facilities in California over the course of 15 months. Semistructured qualitative interviews looked in depth at their teaching techniques, finding that these teachers adopted a humanistic and liberatory approach to teaching behind the walls of juvenile detention facilities.     

影响外语教学效果的因素初探

通过研究有效的语言学习课堂的因素,将有助于改进教学方法,从而改变外语学习的状况。文章从语言输入、输出和情感因素三个方面探讨在语言习得中的作用,并进一步分析其对语言学习课堂的影响。     

走进大学基础课的研究性学习

将研究性学习从专设的课程形态演变为一般的教学形态,这是一个有待解决的新课题。在大学基础课中实施研究性学习,教师必须依据基础课某些教学内容,开发出能够引导学生进入研究性学习状态的“问题”。在“问题”的探究和解决中,使学生学会学习,主体性得到发展。探索如何在大学基础课实施研究性学习是基础课教师的责任。     

Spaces for Voices: A narrative of teaching outside our disciplines

In this paper, we discuss an experiment that we conducted in our teaching practice. Without teaching experience in the other's subject (Gardner is a graduate tutor in English literature; Turner is a graduate tutor in psychology) or prior knowledge of the formal curriculum, Gardner taught a psychology seminar and Turner taught an English literature seminar. We videotaped these seminars and, alongside the students we worked with, participated in two inter-personal process recalls (IPRs) facilitated by a third-party enquirer. Our goal was to understand the extent to which teaching without subject knowledge affected the experience of teaching. In the form of a dialogue, we reflect on the thoughts and feelings stimulated by these IPRs, as well as the process of interdisciplinary research in teaching. We find ourselves confronting some assumptions about models of teaching, and questioning the espoused gap between teaching and research.     

Subject matter knowledge for teaching and the case of functions

Interest in teachers' subject matter knowledge has arisen in recent years. But most of the analysis has been general and not topic-specific. This paper shows how one may approach the question of teachers' knowledge about mathematical topics. It demonstrates the building of an analytic framework of subject matter knowledge for teaching a specific topic in mathematics and then uses the concept of function to provide an illustrative case of a paradigm for analyzing subject matter knowledge for teaching. The choice of the aspects, which form the main facets of the framework, was based on integrated knowledge from several bodies of work: the role and importance of the topic in the discipline of mathematics and in the mathematics curriculum; research and theoretical work on learning, knowledge and understanding of mathematical concepts in general and the specific topic in particular; and research and theoretical work on teachers' subject matter knowledge and its role in teaching. An application of the framework in the case of the concept of function is described and illustrated by anecdotes drawn from a study of prospective secondary teachers' knowledge and understanding of functions.Recipient of a Sir Charles Clore Post-Doctoral Fellowship.     

Seminar课程中的“课题链”教学方式

研讨课题的选择对于Seminar课程(研讨课)的教学安排、教学效果具有重要意义。结合近年来开设的课程《电力系统中的控制问题》,针对此类交叉性Seminar课程,提出了以课题链的方式来确定研讨课题,并进而组织教学内容的教学方式。具体讲,先将不同专业的学生,结合课程所涉及的各研究领域,分成若干小组。每个小组围绕一个研究领域内几个相互有关、层层递进的课题(即课题环)展开研讨。这几个课题环一起就构成了一个课题链,整个班级的教学就围绕着这若干个课题链开展。整体上,课题链教学方式有利于教师因材施教,有利于学生自主学习空间的扩展,也有利于不同专业背景学生之间的交流。几年来的实际教学效果表明,此教学方式十分适合交叉性Seminar课程的教学。     

Impacts of instructor and student loci of commitment on biology learning for prospective elementary school teachers

This study explored the dynamic in the loci of commitment of several participants in a university-level biology course developed for elementary school teachers. The analysis concentrated on two instructors with almost opposing loci of commitment. Through both instructors were committed to teaching, one showed commitment to the subject matter (accuracy, quantity, depth) while the other was more concerned with having the students get involved in the topic development. When the instructor focused on the coverage of content, the students and the instructor felt disappointment— each ending the unit expressing reciprocal discontent with the outcome of the unit. This situation eventually proved detrimental to the students' learning and application of biology. Situations where the instructor proved to be more student-oriented resulted in students making sense of relevant ideas, understanding concepts, and incorporating those ideas and concepts into their knowledge web and teaching practice.     

Comparing the Rigor of Compressed Format Courses to Their Regular Semester Counterparts

This study compared workloads of undergraduate courses taught in 16-week and 8-week sessions. A statistically significant difference in workload was found between the two. Based on survey data from approximately 29,000 students, on average students spent about 17 minutes more per credit per week on 16-week courses than on similar 8-week courses. For selected general education courses taught in both formats, a similar result was obtained. When disaggregating results by subject and instructor, we found that the subject and the instructor of the course are more likely to be the cause of any significant difference in rigor based on workload.     

University academics’ experience of research and its relationship to their experience of teaching

There has been a growing research debate over the relations between university teaching and research. This paper contributes to that debate by describing the variation in the way university academics’ experience research, then linking that empirical evidence with previous work to explicate the relations between variation in research, teaching, and understanding of the subject matter being taught. Previous investigations have shown that conceptual change/student-focussed approaches to teaching are associated with clear articulation of the important aspects of the subject matter being taught, how those aspects relate to each other, and how the teacher situates their understanding of the subject matter in the field as a whole. However, teachers who were unable to explain their understanding of their subject matter in these ways were more likely to experience their teaching as a process of information transfer from a teacher-focussed perspective. Since the characteristics of the first type of understanding subject matter resemble processes underlying the experience of active researchers, these findings seemed to justify a more intensive search for evidence of the link between effective university teaching and research. Interviews have been conducted with 37 university teachers who had strong publication and grant success records and who were teaching and researching in similar topic areas. They represent a range of disciplines and universities, and from both the UK and Australia. The study methods and results are described and we conclude that qualitative variation in the experience of research is related (a) moderately to experience of teaching and (b) strongly to experience of understanding the subject matter.

Students' evaluation and instructors' self-evaluation of university instruction

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between students' evaluations of university instruction and self-ratings of instructors. The sample consisted of 52 instructors, from the School of Education at Tel-Aviv University, who taught 93 classes. The instructors, as well as their students, responded to a 20-item instructional-practices questionnaire. Instructor self-ratings had only a modest relationship with the ratings given by students (a median correlation of .28). Discrepancies between instructor ratings and ratings given by the students were further analyzed for (1) varying training in teaching - no difference was found; and (2) number of years of teaching experience - differences were noted; the self-ratings of less experienced instructors were closer to student ratings.