Characterizing college science instruction: The Three-Dimensional Learning Observation Protocol

Abstract

The importance of improving STEM education is of perennial interest, and to this end, the education community needs ways to characterize transformation efforts. Three-dimensional learning (3DL) is one such approach to transformation, in which core ideas of the discipline, scientific practices, and crosscutting concepts are combined to support student development of disciplinary expertise. We have previously reported on an approach to the characterization of assessments, the Three-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol (3D-LAP), that can be used to identify whether assessments have the potential to engage students in 3DL. Here we present the development of a companion, the Three-Dimensional Learning Observation Protocol (3D-LOP), an observation protocol that can reliably distinguish between instruction that has potential for engagement with 3DL and instruction that does not. The 3D-LOP goes beyond other observation protocols, because it is intended not only to characterize the pedagogical approaches being used in the instructional environment, but also to identify whether students are being asked to engage with scientific practices, core ideas, and crosscutting concepts. We demonstrate herein that the 3D-LOP can be used reliably to code for the presence of 3DL; further, we present data that show the utility of the 3D-LOP in differentiating between instruction that has the potential to promote 3DL

Beyond instructional practices: Characterizing learning environments that support students in explaining chemical phenomena

“…A different observation protocol is needed to support inferences about whether a class can engage in 3D performances. The 3D-LOP was designed by a team of discipline-based education researchers at Michigan State University, Grand Valley State University, Florida International University, and Kansas State University to infer the focus of whole-class meetings from video-recorded course enactments (Bain et al, 2020). This protocol allows researchers to determine whether instruction supports students in weaving together core ideas to predict and explain or model phenomena.…”

“…This protocol allows researchers to determine whether instruction supports students in weaving together core ideas to predict and explain or model phenomena. To date, investigators at multiple institutions have reliably applied the 3D-LOP to describe biology, chemistry, and physics courses (Bain et al, 2020).…”

Development of a Certification Exam to Assess Undergraduate Students’ Proficiency in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Core Concepts

“…There is, furthermore, growing emphasis on instruction and assessments that move beyond traditional insular approaches to support students in understanding crosscutting concepts such as those inherent to BMB ( Laverty et al ., 2016 ; Bain et al ., 2020 ). The ASBMB certification exam, which is available annually to ASBMB-accredited BMB programs and their students, addresses competencies as well as factual knowledge.…”

Influences on Faculty Uptake from a Faculty Learning Community

“…The Fellowship is part of a larger project that involves bringing Three-Dimensional Learning to undergraduate physics classes. Other research that has been conducted by this group has focused on assessment [5][6][7], instruction [8], course transformation [9], and principles of Three-Dimensional Learning [10]. The Fellowship pro-vides us with the space to investigate different avenues of research within the same context including research on the program itself.…”