Promoting active learning in large undergraduate STEM courses: Identifying critical knowledge used by effective instructors

虽然主动学习教学策略可以提高学生学习基本概念的能力，培养科学和批判性思维技能，但教师所取得的结果差异很大。为了支持教师在本科STEM中成功实施主动学习，从而提高学生的成绩，必须确定有利于有效主动学习教学的教师知识。关于教学和学习的知识，而不仅仅是课程内容的知识，可能会影响教师如何使用主动学习。本项目的目标是阐明和描述经验丰富和高效的知识的关键差异（即，在大型（100多名学生）本科生物学课程中，专家）主动学习教师与新手主动学习教师。为了实现项目目标，正在开发和验证一个以主动学习教室的剪辑为特色的视频工具。该工具将衡量教师在大型本科课程的主动学习课程中的教与学知识。所开发的工具将有可能确定专家和新手主动学习教师在他们的知识不同。本项目的完成将有助于深入了解对有效实施主动学习至关重要的知识。该项目还创建并免费提供本科教师在大型课程中实施主动学习的高质量视频。这些视频将提供各种主动学习的例子，帮助教师想象他们如何改变自己的教学。这项研究将对我们促进教师学习的能力产生重大的积极影响，并最终提高学生在本科STEM的学习。

Although active-learning teaching strategies can increase students' ability to learn fundamental concepts and develop scientific and critical thinking skills, the results that instructors achieve vary substantially. In order to support instructors to successfully implement active learning in undergraduate STEM, and thereby improve student outcomes, it is imperative to determine the instructor knowledge that facilitates effective active-learning instruction. Knowledge regarding teaching and learning, not just knowledge of course content, likely influences how instructors use active learning. The objective of this project is to elucidate and characterize critical differences in knowledge of experienced and highly effective (i.e., expert) active-learning instructors versus novice active-learning instructors in large (100+ students) undergraduate biology courses. To accomplish the project objective, a video-based instrument featuring clips from active-learning classrooms is being developed and validated. This instrument will measure instructors' knowledge of teaching and learning during active-learning lessons in large undergraduate courses. The developed instrument will make it possible to determine how expert and novice active-learning instructors differ in their knowledge. Completion of this project will contribute in-depth understanding of the knowledge that is crucial to effective implementation of active learning. This project is also creating and making freely available high-quality videos of undergraduate instructors implementing active learning in large courses. These videos will provide a variety of examples of active learning, helping instructors to imagine how they might change their own instruction. This study will have a significant positive impact on our ability to facilitate faculty learning, and ultimately to improve student learning in undergraduate STEM.