Collaborative Research: Training Faculty in Scientific Teaching: STAR Mini-Institute

生物科学(61)。这个项目的重点是路易斯安那州大专院校生物学教师专业发展的迫切需要。一系列三个教师研讨会(STAR迷你学院)仿照国家科学院本科生物学教育暑期学院(NASI)，旨在培养一个接受过科学教学方法培训的生物学教师社区。为期两天半的迷你学院正在描述和模拟促进主动学习的科学教学和方法，并向参与者介绍支持这些方法的数据。各学院还介绍了关于如何使教学和评估相结合、学习方式和学生的多样性以及如何记录教学效果的背景信息。为了获得实施这些教学方法的经验，参与者将根据他们的教学兴趣进行分组。这些团队正在共同努力，开发结合科学教学、包括形成性和终结性评估的“可教学单元”，并解决如何向具有不同学习风格和需求的学生呈现信息的问题。迷你学院的参与者正在与他们所在机构的其他教员分享他们的经验，并通过旨在继续他们的发展和促进社区的各种机制来保持他们对该项目的参与。迷你学院正在直接影响路易斯安那州各地校园的生物教师，但更广泛的影响延伸到在30所目标机构注册生物课程的大量和多样化的学生，包括6所HBCU和一些社区学院。该项目的成果正在通过区域和国家会议以及在同行评议的科学教育期刊上发表。

Biological Sciences (61). This project focuses on the critical need for professional development of biology faculty at post-secondary institutions throughout the state of Louisiana. A series of three faculty workshops (STAR Mini-institutes) are modeled on the National Academies Summer Institute (NASI) on Undergraduate Education in Biology and are designed to develop a community of biology faculty who are trained in scientific approaches to teaching. The two and a half day long mini-institutes are describing and modeling scientific teaching and methods to promote active learning, and introducing participants to the data supporting these approaches. Background information on how to align instruction and assessment, diversity of learning styles and students, and how to document teaching effectiveness is also being presented in the institutes. To obtain experience in implementing these instructional approaches, participants are being grouped based on their teaching interests. These teams are working together to develop "teachable units" that incorporate scientific teaching, include formative and summative assessments, and address how to present information to students with a diversity of learning styles and needs. Participants in the mini-institutes are sharing their experiences with other faculty at their institutions, and maintaining their involvement in the project through various mechanisms designed to continue their development and foster community.The mini-institutes are directly impacting biology faculty on campuses across Louisiana, but the broader impact extends to the large number and diversity of students enrolled in biology courses at the thirty target institutions, including six HBCU's and a number of community colleges. Results of the project are being disseminated through regional and national meetings and through publication in peer-reviewed journals on science education.