A teaching in-service presentation given by Kamden Strunk in February, 2013, to the faculty of a technical college in Tulsa, OK.

1. Integrative
Pedagogy and
Evaluation
Practices
Kamden K. Strunk, Ph.D.
Oklahoma State University
School of Educational Studies
Center for Research on STEM Teaching and Learning

2. Integrative Model

3. The Data
 Students in courses using integrative
pedagogy:
 Have higher test scores than their counterparts.
 Report higher subject enjoyment of the course
than other students.
 Show improvement on “skills-based”
assessment versus other students.

4. And… A Bonus
 Instructors using integrative pedagogy receive
significantly higher course evaluation scores.
 AND students are significantly more likely to
enroll in more courses in the subject area.
 AND courses using integrative pedagogy
show higher retention levels.

5. Skills for Career
 A recent survey of employers suggested that
employers value:
 Social Skills
 Teamwork Ability
 Ability to innovate
 Problem-solving skills
 Creativity
 These skills are cited higher in importance
than things like “job-specific knowledge”.

6. Other Outcomes
 Increased subjective task value for the course
and content area.
 Better progress toward completion of degree.
 Increases in student retention of content
across academic terms.

7. Teaching and Evaluating
 Thinking
 We’re usually pretty good at this in college.
 We might ask students to analyze a theory,
make decisions about a project, remember
information and synthesize it, and provide
lecture/discussion.
 Evaluation is fairly straightforward, too: Tests,
essays, writing assignments, and projects.

8. Teaching and Evaluating
 Sensing
 At ITT, this is stronger than at many colleges.
 We might ask someone to build something, do
a protocol required for jobs in the field,
physically manipulate objects, or provide
concrete and hands-on learning opportunities.
 We can evaluate “sensing” by grading activity
completion/correctness, and grading on
mastery of skills.

9. Teaching and Evaluating
 Feeling
 There are many ways to integrate this:
 Reflecting on moral/ethical issues in the field,
working in cooperative groups, and even class
discussions may provide some development in
this area.
 We can grade on whether students have
effectively integrated reflection and cooperation
into their work.

10. Teaching and Evaluating
 Intuition
 Although it seems vague and undefined, it is
easy to incorporate intuitive learning.
 Asking students to create a new product, to
solve a problem in a novel manner, and to
improve procedures used in the field.
 These products can be evaluated based on
their Usefulness and Creativity.

11. Examples from Social Science
 A community-based project
 A multi-part class project
 Involves stages: Research & Understanding,
Application, Innovation, and Reflection.
 Cooperative Learning
 Creativity Challenges

12. Examples from STEM Fields
 Engineering challenges
 Given limited supplies, address the problem.
 Cooperative Learning
 Improving a procedure
 Community-based learning

13. Creativity in STEM: A Note
 In most areas we have conducted research
with, Creativity in the classroom is associated
with better outcomes.
 In Science and Math courses, we have not
found this to be the case.
 Anecdotal evidence suggests for these
courses, creativity must be incorporated more
carefully so as to be course-relevant and not
feel like “fluff”.