Challenge faculty to transform STEM learning

Cooper, Melanie M.; Caballero, Marcos D.; Ebert-May, Diane; Fata-Hartley, Cori L.; Jardeleza, Sarah E.; Krajcik, Joseph; Laverty, James T.; Matz, Rebecca L.; Posey, Lynmarie A.; Underwood, Sonia M.

doi:10.1126/science.aab0933

Cited by 116 publications

(120 citation statements)

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“…It may, however, be challenging to engage STEM instructors in PjBL or other types of active learning given that these approaches tend to require additional resources in terms of instructor time (to engage clients and to ensure the fruition of multiple projects within a semester's timeframe). Indeed, research suggests that faculty perceptions of the amount of work associated with PjBL is a barrier to implementation (Cooper et al, ; Helle et al, ; Thomas, ). For example, for a PjBL course in engineering design project, tools and materials to build prototypes may need to be available.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of authentic project‐based learning on attitudes and career aspirations in STEM

Beier¹,

Kim²,

et al. 2018

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Can engaging college students in client‐centered projects in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) coursework increase interest in STEM professions? The current study explored the effectiveness of project‐based learning (PjBL) courses on student attitudes, major choice, and career aspirations in STEM. Framed in expectancy‐value and social cognitive career choice models, we examined the effect of engaging in at least one authentic, project‐based course during the first four semesters of college on student STEM attitudes and career aspirations in a quasi‐experimental study with a sample of (N = 492) natural science and engineering students. STEM self‐efficacy and subjective task value variables (STEM attainment, intrinsic and utility value of STEM courses, and relative cost associated with engaging in STEM courses) were examined as mediators of the relationship between classroom project‐based experiences and STEM career aspirations. Gender and underrepresented minority status were also examined. We found that engaging in at least one project‐based course during the first four semesters affected student perceptions of STEM skills, perceptions of the utility value of participating in STEM courses, and STEM career aspirations. Furthermore, we found that the effect of project‐based courses on STEM career aspirations was mediated by STEM skills and perceptions of course utility. The effect of PjBL was not moderated by race or gender. We highlight areas of future research and the promise of PjBL for engaging students in STEM professions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of authentic project‐based learning on attitudes and career aspirations in STEM

Beier¹,

Kim²,

et al. 2018

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“…That is, while we might sacrifice some concepts, the inclusion of practices more than makes up for that sacrifice so that the total amount of content is not reduced. While the Framework was written for the K-12 education system, it has been argued that these ideas are relevant to higher education [46,48,49].…”

Section: Evolving Learning Goalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of the most common concept inventories in physics: What are we assessing?

Laverty

Caballero

2018

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.

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Assessing student learning is a cornerstone of educational practice. Standardized assessments have played a significant role in the development of instruction, curricula, and educational spaces in college physics. However, the use of these assessments to evaluate student learning is only productive if they continue to align with our learning goals. Recently, there have been calls to elevate the process of science ("scientific practices") to the same level of importance and emphasis as the concepts of physics ("core ideas" and "crosscutting concepts"). We use the recently developed Three-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol to investigate how well the most commonly used standardized assessments in introductory physics (i.e., concept inventories) align with this modern understanding of physics education's learning goals. We find that many of the questions on concept inventories do elicit evidence of student understanding of core ideas, but do not have the potential to elicit evidence of scientific practices or crosscutting concepts. Furthermore, we find that the individual scientific practices and crosscutting concepts that are assessed using these tools are limited to a select few. We discuss the implications that these findings have on designing and testing curricula and instruction both in the past and for the future.

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“…The overarching goal of these programs is to help faculty better connect teaching with learning so that all students can learn science by engaging in collaborative work and inquiry‐based opportunities. These programs emphasize the need for faculty to redesign courses from lectures that focus primarily on information transfer to class sessions that promote critical thinking and actively engage students in constructing their own understanding (for example, Cooper and others , Brewer and Smith , Postareff and others ). Several of these training programs report gains in faculty adoption of new techniques to implement learner‐centered pedagogies and describe the nature of transformed student learning environments (for example, Pfund and others , Ebert‐May and others , Ebert‐May and others ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…And if we think that students should learn science by doing science (Q2), then critically examining the assessments (Q3, Q4) in a course is a place to begin addressing change. Assessments provide insight into faculty expectations about what knowledge students should gain and how students can use and transfer this knowledge in a course (Cooper and others ). Writing assessments that actually measure students’ “knowing” and “doing” should provide faculty insight into how well their students are achieving their course goals and objectives.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rather than develop assessments that separately measure each of the three dimensions, we claim that one assessment item can do this altogether. The 3D‐LAP is designed to characterize items as aligning, or not, with scientific practices, core concepts, and crosscutting concepts (NRC , Cooper and others ). One way we use the 3D‐LAP is to determine the extent to which faculty design their high‐stakes assessments to engage students in learning both the processes and content of science.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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