Evidenced Based Teaching in STEM and activating prior knowledge

Reading time: Approximately 5 minutes

The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) offers a Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) designed to provide STEM educators with evidence-based strategies they can employ to improve their teaching as well as effectively conduct teaching as research projects. The course, An Introduction to Evidence-Based Undergraduate STEM Teaching, is offered every few weeks at: https://www.edx.org/course/an-introduction-to-evidence-based-undergraduate-stem-teaching-6

This course aims to "provide future STEM faculty, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows with an introduction to effective teaching strategies and the research that supports them. The goal of the eight-week course is to equip the next generation of STEM faculty to be effective teachers, thus improving the learning experience for the thousands of students they will teach".

If you don't want to enroll in the course, you can review all course modules and resources for free at https://www.stemteachingcourse.org/home.

The modules contain several brief microlectures that focus on key pedagogical concepts and assessment strategies contextualized for various STEM disciplines. For example, this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecDmvafcDDY&t=7s (found in Module 2 - approximately 10 minutes), focuses on how to activate prior knowledge in students. The instructor uses a famous example from the field of psychology, to illustrate how students in a statistics class have a higher chance of understanding hypothesis testing when you use real world examples students may be familiar with, as opposed to discipline specific symbols and abstract language to solve problems.

This is not to say you should avoid using the language of the discipline. The point of activating prior knowledge is to help students make connections from what you are teaching, to what they already know, so that they have a better chance of understanding and retaining what you want them to know. This also helps increase the chance that students will be able to transfer what they learn to related contexts.

Flippity

Flippity https://www.flippity.net/ is a free resource that allows for the quick creation of quizzes, flash cards, presentations, memory games, word searches, and more. Flippity allows users to customize premade Google Sheet templates with their own content. Instructors can use Flippity as a presentation tool, or to create low- or no-stakes assignments through Google Sheets. Further, students can use Flippity to create their own projects. This resource can be used in face-to-face and online courses, at the individual, group, or whole class level.

This video: briefly describes how many of the templated activities available on the site work.

Flippity is not a plug-in to Google Sheets, so it does not require the creation of a username or password. As such, this tool is primarily recommended for creating activities aimed at engaging students in your course.  Some of the activities can be downloaded as PDFs and distributed to students, in which case they could submit the activity via Canvas or in class.

Research in Action Podcast

Last year, Oregon State University concluded the podcast series, Research In Action. The archives remain available for review. The podcast covers a wide variety of topics related to research, teaching, and/or higher education. Some specific titles include:

Each podcast comes with an instructor guide as well as resources connected to each segment of the podcast. The instructor guides include:

  • A brief abstract describing what is discussed in the podcast

  • The guest bio and segment topics

  • Learning outcomes for the episode

  • Time stamps for each segment

  • Link to the episode show notes and transcript

  • Guiding questions for listening to the episode

  • Potential classroom activities that could be paired with the episode

  • Links and/or citations related to content mentioned in each section

What podcast are you listening to that help inform your teaching and learning?

Creating an Accessible Syllabus

Research related to the Universal Design for Learning https://udlguidelines.cast.org/ reminds us that creating accessible material is a win for all students. One of the access points that students may have to you and your course is the syllabus. The course syllabus communicates more than just due dates and contact information. You can set a tone of respect and inclusivity in your course by providing a syllabus that includes IU’s disability accommodation statement with a personalized touch and in an accessible and usable format.

The Accessible Syllabus Website: https://www.accessiblesyllabus.com provides examples, as well as advice to consider about how to present text, images, rhetoric, and policy in an inclusive manner. These approaches can also be used in the development of lectures and other course materials.

Additionally, the site embeds multiple resources within each topic area. For example, the section on Policy compares traditional and inclusive policy statements, discusses approaches to expanding deadlines, and addresses various types of grading practices.

Again, all approaches mentioned on this site may not work for your course; as inclusive teaching emphasizes that there is no one size fits all approach. The advice, as presented, may require modification to best support your teaching goals.

You can also find additional resources related to syllabi creation in this IU Expand course: https://iu.instructure.com/courses/1716451/pages/the-syllabus-a-must-have, and in this IU Pressbooks chapter: https://iu.pressbooks.pub/semesterchecklist/chapter/add-your-syllabus/

8 Summer Reads on DEI

The National Institute on Scientific Teaching has shared a few recommendations for summer reading. This list focuses on books that may help us deepen our understanding of Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) topics in higher education. Full descriptions are provided in the links by clicking on the titles. I have also added a link to the availability of the book in our library.

  1. "Superior" - Angela Saini. "Superior" walks the reader through the long history of the belief in biological racial differences and how it has been intertwined with political history. https://iucat.iu.edu/catalog/18696719

  2. "Inferior" - Angela Saini. "Inferior" explores the background belief that men and women are fundamentally different. Angela Saini takes the reader on a journey that investigates past research on gender differences in biology, anthropology, and psychology. "Inferior" then shows a view of science where women are included rather than excluded. https://iucat.iu.edu/catalog/16409604

  3. "UNgrading" - Susan Blum. Read the testimonials of fifteen educators describing their journey going gradeless. The stories encompass all levels of instruction, and different disciplines. This is a great book for understanding the movement and reading the personal reflections of individuals that are at different stages of their journey. https://iucat.iu.edu/catalog/18678673

  4. "For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education" - Chris Emdin. In this book the author reflects on their own experience to show a poignant perspective on teaching and learning in urban schools. The author explains their theory of Reality Pedgaogy, demonstrating this with the seven C's, and provides tools to excite and encourage students and instructors to break free of traditional modes of thinking about urban education. https://iucat.iu.edu/catalog/15426645

  5. "The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die" - Keith Payne. The Broken Ladder explores the effects of rising inequality and how people perceive their position in society. The book examines inequalities' link to health crises, long-term prosperity, and social cohesion, among others. https://iucat.iu.edu/catalog/17538409

  6. "Testosterone Rex: Myths of Sex, Science, and Society" - Cordelia Fine. This text explores the myth that the difference between men and women is biological. Codelia Fine works to debunk the science and societal misconceptions that are often used to perpetuate this myth. Using humor in a masterful way, "Testosterone Rex" disproves these misconceptions, and argues for a more equal society based on the potential present in all humans. https://iucat.iu.edu/catalog/16523736

  7. "Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education" - Jay Dolmage. "Academic Ableism" brings together disability studies and institutional critique to examine the methods for accommodation and how schools are constructed, to formulate their argument that building more inclusive schools that address ableism will ultimately provide better education for all. https://iucat.iu.edu/catalog/17823265

  8. "The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students" - Anthony Abraham Jack. This book outlines how student background has a large effect on the chances for student success, and illuminates what it is like to be poor on an elite college campus. The book explains why the university obligation to disadvantaged students must go beyond a letter of admission and strive to make inclusion for all students a reality at college campuses. https://iucat.iu.edu/catalog/18498620