1. Stopping the rop
A story about professors, change, and STEM teaching
D
A project by GOODcorps
Funded by the Helmsley Charitable Trust, May 2016
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2. Ever wonder why the U.S. ranks
48th worldwide in quality of
math and science education?
1.
4. Ever think about why 50% of
U.S. students, who start college
planning to major in a STEM
field, actually fail to get a 4-year
degree in a STEM discipline?
2.
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Ever wonder how to help
one of these students have
a better chance of staying
in a STEM major?
3.
7. Wanting to help kids stay in
STEM majors, the Helmsley
Trust chose to support
Active Learning methods in
introductory courses because
these engage students in the
learning process.
4.
But even though these teaching methods
have been shown to lower STEM major
attrition, many professors were not
bringing them into their classrooms.
The Trust learned about all the barriers:
policies, time, funding, departmental
organization, etc.
But these didn’t tell the whole story,
especially because many of the new
teaching methods could be adopted
without much fuss or funding.
?
8. 5.
“Who can help us figure out what might
be standing in the way of these very
smart people making these fairly easy
changes?” they asked themselves.
GOODcorps, said, “We can help you with that.”
And, we designed a project to shed some light
on what else might be going on that influences
professors’ willingness to adopt instructional
changes in their classrooms.
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Want to
meet them?
We read some great
academic research
and talked to 6
amazing experts in
post-secondary
STEM education.
We gathered some
inspiring stories and
ideas to help us see the
attitudes, values, and
needs that shape their
behaviors with their
students and in their
classrooms.
We hit the road,
traveling to schools
in California, Texas,
and New York to meet
professors in their labs,
classroom, and offices.
We built some
mindsets, a kind of
dispositional type, to
make it easier to see
these dimensions.
6.
Then we got busy.
11. 7.
GOALIES PURISTS MANAGERS NEWCOMERS ACES
Explain student choices
in conventional ways.
Adjust traditional
activities so more
students engage.
Changes should support
their advisory role.
Teach a younger
version of themselves.
Rely on teaching tools
from their experience
as a student.
Changes should
support their passion.
Teach, but research
matters more.
Rely on teaching tools
from their experience
as a student.
Changes should support
tenure track goals.
Motivate students
with core knowledge.
Use new research
and teaching tools
to build enthusiasm.
Changes should enhance
their effectiveness.
Advising students
about the best paths
Passing their passion
onto future generations
Getting students ready
for the workplace
Making sure their
tenure is on track
Blending teaching and
research perfectly
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Prepare students for
opportunities in industry.
Teach development
of ideas through
iteration.
Changes should ready
their students for careers.
12. So as you can see,
our professors are distinct in the
way they understand their role as
a professor, but their values and
needs overlap considerably.
Here’s how...
7.
GOALIES PURISTS MANAGERS NEWCOMERS ACES
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14. 3 pt
They are well practiced at
self-determination
As professional academics,
our professors expect to judge
what is best for their classroom
and students based on their
experiences, understanding, and
needs, as well as the hopes they
have for their students’ success.
8.
16. They want what is best for students
They see themselves as role models
who are accessible, enthusiastic, and
caring, especially when showing
students how the knowledge they
teach them can help students be
successful in their lives.
9.
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They are the force behind change
They are always influenced and guided
by the concepts and methods of others,
but change happens best when they
make the effort to align it with their
students’ and classroom’s needs.
11.
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They are standard-bearers
They accept the significant challenges
involved in moving students through
the basics of their discipline. But
they resist activities that even suggest
“dumbing down” or “diluting” core
knowledge and processes so more
students can participate.
12.
23. 13.
We go on a kind of journey that lets us align or
shift our values and adapt new ideas to better
suit our needs.
Our pathway helps us change our perceptions,
so we can envision the change and then act.
So if we’re talking about a pathway to
instructional change in the classroom, what
does that journey look like for our professors?
Now we all take some kind
of pathway when making
changes, right?
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25. 14.
They really
liked the
lecture today.
What if I had
consistent
info about
new teaching
methods?
Am I supposed
to try all of
these?
What if I
had tools for
adapting these
activities?
What else
can I try?
What if I
could involve
my students
in creating
changes?
How is this
more effective
for my kids?
What if I could
easily link new
methods to
my teaching
realities?
These activities
seem easy to
tweak.
What if I had
ways to share
what I tried
to get relevant
feedback?
I have some
great stories
to share.
What if I had
a powerful
network
of peer
practitioners?
No Interest Consider Plan Try Evolve Advocate
26. 15.
So how does all this become the bigger
story about why professors are not more
involved in instructional change?
Why do these new teaching methods, like
Active Learning, which focus on keeping
undergraduates on the path to a STEM
degree seem of little interest to our
professors, who really do want to
engage their students and help them
to be successful in STEM classes?
27. Well, these methods just
don’t appear to be aligned
with or suited to professors’
goals and needs in the
classroom. This means they
are not motivated to take the
necessary steps to make
these methods their own.
16.
These new teaching methods feel as if...
• They are unrelated to the realities of today’s
classroom experiences.
• They will diminish the core knowledge being
taught in favor of “lighter” content that will
appeal to more students.
• They appear to turn the classroom over to
the students, who are not prepared for this
kind of active engagement.
• They make the professors less and less relevant
to the student and disrupt mentorship
relationships in favor of peer teaching.
28. So let’s summarize. How can
these insights about needs,
values, and the pathway to
change actually guide us?
Maybe a set of guidelines for taking
action that focuses on the professors’
values and needs?
A list of “do’s and don’ts” for
staying on track when asking these
professors to change?
17.
How to
TEACH
29. 18.
5 Guides
Respect Our Autonomy
Professors have lived long and prospered in
environments where self-determination is valued.
We decide what kind of experiences should
happen in our classrooms. We need to know you
appreciate that and recognize what it means when
you ask us to change our teaching.
Value Our Connections to Students
When students feel we care, they engage more
and strive to reach their goals. Give us activities
that strengthen these bonds so that we continue to
cultivate our students’ successes.
Align Not Juxtapose
Contrasting our teaching methods with new activities makes
us feel bad. Show us the ways in which we can align and
evolve our preferred methods to help our students, and we
are more likely to engage and adapt yours.
Remember Who’s Driving
Do not lean on an alienating story about our teaching skills.
Remember that classroom changes include us. Show us how
your strategies are relevant to our experiences and the vital
role we will continue to play in helping our students learn.
Provide Relevant Research
We do want solid facts and outcome data. But remember we
are researchers, so our teaching activities are experiments
that help us evolve our understanding of how to teach. We
also look to the efforts of professors like us to see what is
advancing teaching and learning for our students.
30. 19.
Now let’s talk about the challenge.
When creating communications,
programs, funding strategies, or
just your next steps forward, these
mindsets can help you reflect on the
types of audiences you will want to
reach. The guidelines and the pathway
can support you to keep the professors’
needs, values, and journey in the
forefront as you develop your ideas.
31. 20.
But in the spirit of more active learning,
we would like to turn this back to you.
What kinds of dialogue can we start that
would help professors see the value of new
teaching methods, like Active Learning?
What kinds of programs would be most
effective to help professors begin to engage
and adapt these teaching methods into the
realities of their classrooms?
33. Thank you to...
The professors whose stories have been
instrumental to our understanding
of the experience of teaching STEM
courses and beyond.
The education experts who brought
us up to speed on the current state
of STEM education and teaching:
Professors Adrianna Kezar, Susan
Ambrose, Nika Hogan, Charles
Henderson, Noah Finkelstein, and
Sylvia Hurtado.
The people behind this effort are...
The Helmsley Charitable Trust team:
Ryan Kelsey and Sue Cui
The GOODcorps team: Grant Garrison,
Andrea “Andy” Williams, Janise Chan,
Anna White, Haakon Faste, and Sheri Linden.
Want to talk more about what you learned
here or what you can do? Contact:
Grant Garrison, Managing Director, GOODcorps
grant@goodcorps.com | 310-266-3170
35. Thought starters
Here are a few ideas to help you kick-start
your own. What if there were…
• On-campus “news” kiosks that provide students
and faculty with thought-provoking messages
about STEM education and suggest adaptable
instructional methods and activities.
• A STEM education storytelling podcast that
highlights professors who speak to their passion
for their discipline and how they get other people,
including students, excited through their teaching.
• A professional meeting or conference experience
with compelling, interactive demonstrations of
Active Learning as applied to different disciplines.
• Micro-grants that support professors to adapt,
introduce, and evaluate different teaching activities
into their introductory courses.
• Crowdsourced forum, like Reddit, where professors share
how they adapted Active Learning and ask questions about
methods, scenarios, and challenges. Funded through grants,
but moderated by a cross-disciplinary team of professors.
• A Mentors’ Club, a community of practitioners, not
educational experts, who meet to exchange ideas about
teaching practice and other activities, which can ensure
greater success of STEM disciplines.
• A stipend for advocates of STEM Active Learning that
supports them to attend professional meetings where they
can share their new expertise in instructional methods.
• New evaluation tools that help faculty and students
give relevant feedback on activities.
36. Note:
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