Redefining the College Lecture: Facilitating Discussions in STEM Undergraduate Courses

在加州大学伯克利分校教学与学习中心和教育技术服务中心的支持下，劳伦斯科学学院正在制定学院学习计划，以改变STEM本科教师的教学实践，并改善学生在大型STEM讲座课程中的学习成果和体验。该项目团队正在开发一项混合专业学习计划，以加深教师对学习如何发生的理解，并发展他们的能力，以促进话语机会，以支持学生在他们的课堂上学习。教职员工还在学习如何使用数字技术“翻转他们的教室”，以此作为一种手段，在授课期间为学生创造时间，让他们与同学和讲师反思、解释、辩论和谈论科学。改变了的教学实践要求教师重新思考他们在教学中的角色，从而重新定义讲座课程的设计和教授方式。重新定义学院讲座项目的目标是通过一个混合型专业学习项目来改善大学STEM教师的教学实践，该项目培育了一个学习社区，提供了持续的支持，并位于他们的日常工作中。该项目的智力优势在于独特的设计，为改变STEM本科教师的教学实践创造了一个可适应和可采用的专业学习(PL)计划。该项目利用PI的经验和被证明的能力来开发PL计划，正如之前的NSF项目所展示的那样；合作者带来了在线学习技术专业知识。STEM院长和主席、STEM教员、教员发展人员和副教务长的支持和参与反映了强大的机构承诺。三篇文献支持该项目的理论框架和程序设计。首先，专业学习已被发现对知识和有效教学法的使用具有重要的积极影响，涉及在他们日常工作的学习社区内发展教师STEM教育专业知识。其次，学生的话语促进了学生对复杂STEM概念的学习，包括与同龄人和教师交谈、辩论和捍卫自己的想法的机会。第三，在战略上结合循证实践知识使用的在线技术是可以用来支持大学课程学习的强大工具。该项目的更广泛影响源于这样一个事实，即在参与的三个机构中，多达102名STEM教职员工将参加一个深入的专业学习计划，并将他们在重新构思他们在报告厅中的角色以及重新设计和教学现有课程中学到的东西应用到他们的学习中。这将对18,000多名学生的教育体验产生影响。每所大学专业学习计划的设计和实施具有协作性和定制化的性质，并包括教师发展中心，这将使其在这笔赠款的三年任期后继续存在。

The Lawrence Hall of Science, with support from the University of California Berkeley Center for Teaching and Learning and Educational Technology Services, is developing the Faculty Learning Program for changing STEM undergraduate faculty instructional practices and improving student learning gains and experiences in large STEM lecture courses. The project team is developing a blended professional learning program to deepen faculty understanding of how learning happens, and develop their abilities to facilitate discourse opportunities to support student learning in their classes. Faculty members are also learning to use digital technologies to "flip their classrooms" as a means to create time during lecture for students to reflect, explain, argue, and talk science with their classmates and instructor. The changed instructional practice requires faculty to rethink their role in teaching, and thus redefine how lecture courses are designed and taught. The goal of Redefining the College Lecture project is to improve university STEM faculty instructional practice through a blended professional learning program that nurtures a learning community, provides continuous support, and is situated within their everyday work.The intellectual merit of this project lies in the distinctive design which creates an adaptable and adoptable professional learning (PL) program for changing STEM undergraduate faculty instructional practices. The project leverages the PI's experiences and proven ability to develop PL programs as demonstrated through prior NSF projects; collaborators bring online learning technology expertise. The support and involvement of STEM Deans and Chairs, STEM faculty, faculty development staff, and the Vice Provost reflect strong institutional commitment. Three bodies of literature support the project's theoretical framework and program design. First, professional learning, which has been found to have significant positive impacts on knowledge and use of effective pedagogy, involves developing faculty STEM education expertise within a learning community situated within their everyday work. Second, students' learning of complex STEM concepts is facilitated by student discourse including opportunities to talk, argue, and defend their ideas with peers and the instructor. Third, online technologies, used strategically with knowledge of evidence-based practices, are powerful tools that can be leveraged to support learning in university courses.The broader impacts of the project arise from the fact that within the three institutions participating, up to 102 STEM faculty will have participated in an in-depth professional learning program and applied what they learned in the reconceptualization of their role in the lecture hall, and the redesign and instruction of their existing courses. This will result in an impact in the educational experience of over 18,000 students. The collaborative, customized nature of the professional learning program's design and implementation at each university and the inclusion of faculty development centers will position it to be sustained beyond the three-year tenure of this grant.