scholarly journals Teaching Assistant Professional Development in Biology: Designed for and Driven by Multidimensional Data

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 212-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara A. Wyse ◽  
Tammy M. Long ◽  
Diane Ebert-May
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Multidimensional Data ◽  
Graduate Teaching ◽  
Learner Centered ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Undergraduate Science ◽  
Reported Data ◽  
Direct Measures

Graduate teaching assistants (TAs) are increasingly responsible for instruction in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. Various professional development (PD) programs have been developed and implemented to prepare TAs for this role, but data about effectiveness are lacking and are derived almost exclusively from self-reported surveys. In this study, we describe the design of a reformed PD (RPD) model and apply Kirkpatrick's Evaluation Framework to evaluate multiple outcomes of TA PD before, during, and after implementing RPD. This framework allows evaluation that includes both direct measures and self-reported data. In RPD, TAs created and aligned learning objectives and assessments and incorporated more learner-centered instructional practices in their teaching. However, these data are inconsistent with TAs’ self-reported perceptions about RPD and suggest that single measures are insufficient to evaluate TA PD programs.

scholarly journals What’s in a Prerequisite? A Mixed-Methods Approach to Identifying the Impact of a Prerequisite Course

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. ar16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian K. Sato ◽  
Amanda K. Lee ◽  
Usman Alam ◽  
Jennifer V. Dang ◽  
Samantha J. Dacanay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Performance Metrics ◽  
Course Performance ◽  
Time To Degree ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Mathematics Curricula ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Undergraduate Science ◽  
The Impact

Despite the ubiquity of prerequisites in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curricula, there has been minimal effort to assess their value in a data-driven manner. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, we examined the impact of prerequisites in the context of a microbiology lecture and lab course pairing. Through interviews and an online survey, students highlighted a number of positive attributes of prerequisites, including their role in knowledge acquisition, along with negative impacts, such as perhaps needlessly increasing time to degree and adding to the cost of education. We also identified a number of reasons why individuals do or do not enroll in prerequisite courses, many of which were not related to student learning. In our particular curriculum, students did not believe the microbiology lecture course impacted success in the lab, which agrees with our analysis of lab course performance using a previously established “familiarity” scale. These conclusions highlight the importance of soliciting and analyzing student feedback, and triangulating these data with quantitative performance metrics to assess the state of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curricula.

Untangling a complex relationship: teaching beliefs and instructional practices of assistant chemistry faculty at research-intensive institutions

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 513-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maia Popova ◽  
Lu Shi ◽  
Jordan Harshman ◽  
Annika Kraft ◽  
Marilyne Stains
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Instructional Practices ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Teaching Beliefs ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Learner Centered ◽  
Beliefs About Teaching ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
And Cluster Analysis

In this era of instructional transformation of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses at the postsecondary level in the United States, the focus has been on educating science faculty about evidence-based instructional practices, i.e. practices that have been empirically proven to enhance student learning outcomes. The literature on professional development at the secondary level has demonstrated a tight interconnectedness between ones’ beliefs about teaching and learning and one's instructional practices and the need to attend to faculty's beliefs when engaging them in instructional change processes. Although discipline-based education researchers have made great strides in characterizing instructional practices of STEM faculty, much less attention has been given to understanding the beliefs of STEM about teaching and learning. Knowledge of instructors’ thinking can inform faculty professional development initiatives that encourage faculty to reflect on the beliefs that drive their classroom practices. Therefore, this study characterized the interplay between beliefs and instructional practices of nineteen assistant chemistry professors. Luft and Roehrig's Teaching Beliefs Interview protocol was used to capture beliefs; classroom observations and course artifacts were collected to capture practices. Clear trends were identified between faculty's beliefs (characterized through constant-comparative analysis and cluster analysis) and practices (characterized with Blumberg's Learner-Centered Teaching Rubric). Overall, beliefs of most of the participants were somewhat aligned with their instructional practices, with the exception of one cluster of faculty who held student-centered beliefs, but received only moderate scores on the Learner-Centered Teaching Rubric.

Partnerships for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education and Career Prosperity

2019 ◽  
pp. 337-349
Author(s):  
Chih-Che Tai ◽  
Ryan Andrew Nivens ◽  
Karin J. Keith
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Local School ◽  
Business Partners ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Career Opportunities ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of this chapter is to report on partnerships between local school agents, business partners, institutes of higher education, and nonprofit organizations that promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) activities that enhance career opportunities for students. The authors share the importance of these partnerships as well as the benefits that result for all members. In addition to describing the benefits of the partnerships, the authors lay out techniques used to manage and develop partnerships. Most importantly, the authors share the outcomes of these partnerships, including professional development projects rooted in the work between the member partners. The chapter provides data about the impact of these partnerships on students' academic achievement and concludes with recommendations and suggestions to develop and sustain partnerships.

Strategies to Increase Representation of Students with Disabilities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffry L. White ◽  
G.H. Massiha
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
College Students ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
College Attendance ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Personal Services ◽  
College Students With Disabilities ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Integrated Program

As a nation wrestles with the need to train more professionals, persons with disabilities are undereducated and underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The following project was proposed to increase representation of students with disabilities in the STEM disciplines. The program emphasizes an integrated program of interventions for college students with disabilities (SwD) majoring in STEM which centers on a system of continuous student monitoring with rapid access to academic and personal services, as well as professional development and degree enhancing experiences supplied during the entire period of college attendance.

scholarly journals Enhancing Thai In-service Teachers’ Perceptions of STEM Education with Tablet-based Professional Development

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sasithep Pitiporntapin ◽  
Panuvit Chantara ◽  
Wachira Srikoom ◽  
Prasart Nuangchalerm ◽  
Lisa M. Hines
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Educational Approach ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Stem Teaching ◽  
Do So

National efforts in Thailand are currently focused on promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education in order to better prepare the future generations to be an effective and productive workforce. In accordance with this mission, the goal of this research is to develop a tablet-based professional development (PD) program to enhance in-service teachers’ perceptions of STEM education, which will directly affect both their decision to incorporate STEM, as well as their ability to effectively do so in their own classroom. To assess the efficacy of the PD program, we recruited 240 STEM and non-STEM teachers from basic education schools in Thailand to participate in the program. The activities in this program were divided into three parts: 1) increasing knowledge about STEM education, 2) providing demonstrations of STEM teaching, and 3) developing STEM-based lessons. Data were collected throughout the tablet-based PD program from focus group discussion sessions, pre-post questionnaires, and informal interviews. Data were analyzed using content analysis. The findings revealed that before participating in the tablet-based PD program, the majority of participants had limited knowledge on STEM education and were uncertain on how to integrate STEM into their instructional practices. They also had difficulty with connecting the different STEM disciplines in their activities. Although they were interested in implementing the STEM educational approach, they lacked confidence on how to accomplish this. After completing the tablet-based PD program, many participants had a much better understanding of STEM education and greater confidence with implementing STEM pedagogical approaches.

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