Background: The characteristics of the classroom environment play an important role in shaping teaching practices and supporting research-based instructional strategies. One instructional strategy that has reimagined the classroom is the Student-Centered Active Learning Environment with Upside-Down Pedagogies (SCALE-UP). SCALE-UP uses studio-style instruction to facilitate student collaboration. Although there is significant interest in studio-style instruction, there is not much research-based guidance available for institutions interested in setting up a classroom, especially for secondary users interested in using this in different academic settings and contexts. We interviewed key informants involved in 21 successful secondary implementations of SCALE-UP about creating, using, and spreading studio-style classrooms. This paper summarizes respondent's perceptions of (1) how these classrooms are initiated; (2) which classroom features are helpful, non-essential, and unhelpful; (3) how professional development efforts support SCALE-UP instructors; and (4) how the classroom indirectly affects the department and/or institution. Results: Room initiation Interviewees engaged in multiple activities to obtain a studio-style classroom. The majority of interviewees worked in teams created by faculty or administrators, with the participation from both groups. Interviewees typically sought institutional funding to develop the rooms. Classroom features When developing the room, implementers used many key characteristics of the recommended classroom, such as collaborative workspace (e.g., special tables) for students, but they generally did not replicate all of the recommended features. Interviewees had mixed opinions about the importance of classroom technology. Professional development and support Interviewees noted the importance of professional development for teaching staff (instructors and teaching assistants) new to the SCALE-UP teaching environment. Indirect effects Beyond direct benefits to the teachers and learners, our interviewees reported that the classrooms had larger impacts including attracting visitors to the institution and encouraging the use of active learning in non-SCALE-UP classes. Conclusions: There are many paths to successful development of a studio-style classroom. The process can be initiated by faculty or administrators. Classroom designs can vary to suit the local environment as long as they maintain the intent of the space: to support peer collaboration. Beyond improving student outcomes, these classrooms have additional benefits for institutions that include transforming instructor approaches to teaching and symbolizing the institution's commitment to quality teaching.
While many innovative teaching strategies exist, integration into undergraduate science teaching has been frustratingly slow. This study aims to understand the low uptake of research-based instructional innovations by studying 21 successful implementations of the Student Centered Active Learning with Upside-down Pedagogies (SCALE-UP) instructional reform. SCALE-UP significantly restructures the classroom environment and pedagogy to promote highly active and interactive instruction. Although originally designed for university introductory physics courses, SCALE-UP has spread to many other disciplines at hundreds of departments around the world. This study reports findings from in-depth, open-ended interviews with 21 key contact people involved with successful secondary implementations of SCALE-UP throughout the United States. We defined successful implementations as those who restructured their pedagogy and classroom and sustained and/or spread the change. Interviews were coded to identify the most common enabling and challenging factors during reform implementation and compared to the theoretical framework of Kotter's 8-step Change Model. The most common enabling influences that emerged are documenting and leveraging evidence of local success, administrative support, interaction with outside SCALE-UP user(s), and funding. Many challenges are linked to the lack of these enabling factors including difficulty finding funding, space, and administrative and/or faculty support for reform. Our focus on successful secondary implementations meant that most interviewees were able to overcome challenges. Presentation of results is illuminated with case studies, quotes, and examples that can help secondary implementers with SCALE-UP reform efforts specifically. We also discuss the implications for policy makers, researchers, and the higher education community concerned with initiating structural change.
Background: Many innovative teaching strategies have been developed under the assumption that documenting successful student learning outcomes at the development site is enough to spread the innovation successfully to secondary sites. Since this 'show them and they will adopt' model has yet to produce the desired large-scale transformation, this study examines one innovative teaching strategy that has demonstrated success in spreading. This instructional strategy, Student-Centered Active Learning Environment with Upside-down Pedagogies (SCALE-UP), modifies both the pedagogy and classroom design to maximize interaction and activity-based learning. A web survey was used to develop a census of instructors who have been influenced by SCALE-UP. Results: SCALE-UP, which started in large enrollment university physics, has spread widely across disciplines and institutions. The survey identified that SCALE-UP style instruction is currently used in over a dozen disciplines at a minimum of 314 departments in at least 189 higher education institutions in 21 countries. Many more respondents indicated learning about SCALE-UP via interpersonal channels, such as talks/workshops and colleagues, than via mass media channels, such as the Internet and publications. We estimate the dissemination of SCALE-UP in physics may be at the tipping point between adoption by adventurous early users and the more mainstream majority. Implementers demonstrate pedagogical and structural variation in their use of SCALE-UP.
Background: Many innovative teaching strategies have been developed under the assumption that documenting successful student learning outcomes at the development site is enough to spread the innovation successfully to secondary sites. Since this 'show them and they will adopt' model has yet to produce the desired large-scale transformation, this study examines one innovative teaching strategy that has demonstrated success in spreading. This instructional strategy, Student-Centered Active Learning Environment with Upside-down Pedagogies (SCALE-UP), modifies both the pedagogy and classroom design to maximize interaction and activity-based learning. A web survey was used to develop a census of instructors who have been influenced by SCALE-UP. Results: SCALE-UP, which started in large enrollment university physics, has spread widely across disciplines and institutions. The survey identified that SCALE-UP style instruction is currently used in over a dozen disciplines at a minimum of 314 departments in at least 189 higher education institutions in 21 countries. Many more respondents indicated learning about SCALE-UP via interpersonal channels, such as talks/workshops and colleagues, than via mass media channels, such as the Internet and publications. We estimate the dissemination of SCALE-UP in physics may be at the tipping point between adoption by adventurous early users and the more mainstream majority. Implementers demonstrate pedagogical and structural variation in their use of SCALE-UP. Conclusions: Leveraging interpersonal networks can help accelerate dissemination of educational innovations and should be used more prominently in change strategies. Since SCALE-UP may be nearing a tipping point within the discipline of physics, now may be the time to modify change strategies to appeal to more typical faculty rather than the early adopters. This may include using successful secondary implementers as like-minded intermediaries to reach out to people considering the use of the innovation in different institutional settings for more practical and relatable advice. For SCALE-UP, having a specialized classroom may improve the likelihood of continued use at an institution. We also hypothesize that having a special classroom may start departmental conversations about innovative teaching and may make instructors less likely to revert back to traditional methods.
Over the past few decades, a growing body of evidence demonstrates that students learn best in engaging, interactive, collaborative, and inquiry-based environments. However, most college science classes are still taught with traditional methods suggesting the existing selection of research-based instructional materials has not widely transformed undergraduate education. SCALE-UP is a renovated pedagogy and classroom environment that has achieved a greater impact than most, used extensively throughout the United States and abroad. SCALE-UP is not a simple collection of lesson plans or a textbook that can be easily adopted, and instead instructors are encouraged to customize main pedagogical principles to their unique instructional situation. This flexibility along with promotion of instructor autonomy may have assisted its spread. This paper uses case studies of five successful secondary implementations in the United States to examine how instructors gather information about reform, create a curriculum, and achieve sustained use. Many people learned about research-based resources that formed the composite of their curricula through interpersonal connections. Time constraints and misunderstandings between developers and instructors limited which resources were chosen and how they were used. Once instructors created a "working form" of the curriculum, three out of five instructors did not make significant changes. This could lead to the preservation of a more conservative curriculum. Implications include that disseminators should articulate core principles of the reform that should be retained to uphold the integrity of the reform as well as the areas where adopters have flexibility to innovate. Strategically involving other secondary users in the dissemination process could facilitate important interpersonal exchanges that could provide an additional layer of support for faculty.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.