Sustaining the development and implementation of student‐centered teaching nationally: The importance of a community of practice

Abstract

Although the idea of using a workshop to educate potential users about a set of materials or techniques is not new, the workshops described here go beyond simple dissemination and create ongoing communities of practice that support widespread and sustained improvement in the biochemistry classroom. The degree to which pedagogical innovations improve student learning on a national level depends on how broadly they are disseminated and how they are implemented and sustained. Workshops can be effective in disseminating ideas and techniques, but they often fail to sustain implementation. This paper describes Core Collaborators Workshops (CCWs) that were specifically designed for biochemistry faculty to improve the quality of active learning materials, support faculty in transforming their classrooms, and disseminate these efforts nationally. This CCW model proved very effective to date as shown by the fact that, 8 months after the last CCW, all workshop participants reported using at least some of the instructional materials discussed during the workshop. In addition, participants remarked that the superior community building and direct mentoring available through the CCWs greatly increased their confidence in implementing this new curricular approach and has made them more likely to act as leaders themselves.

Probing and improving student's understanding of protein α‐helix structure using targeted assessment and classroom interventions in collaboration with a faculty community of practice

“…Although we have only completed once cycle of investigation directly related to the protein α‐helix project, a number of generative spirals, described by McNiff, have fed into and arisen from the work described here. The community described in this article has been active in some form since 2007 and has participated in a number of projects to improve undergraduate biochemistry instruction . For example, the pre/posttest used to measure student understanding of protein α‐helix structure was developed collaboratively and refined over years using iterative cycles .…”

“…A key component of the POGIL Biochem project was to involve a community of undergraduate biochemistry educators in all aspects of the project . In June 2011, 20 faculty members attended a 3.5‐day workshop, part of which was devoted to improving student learning in biochemistry using previously collected assessment data as a starting point.…”

“…Similarly, Murray et al . describe a sustained community that self‐reported significant professional development and personal growth through participation in collaborative production of teaching materials and assessment tools. The next step for this community is to use assessment data to cycle back into collaborative production of teaching materials targeting common and persistent student incorrect ideas.…”

Curriculum development in studio-style university physics and implications for dissemination of research-based reforms

“…An example of an alternative dissemination model that puts most of these recommendations into practice is the POGIL Core Collaborators Workshop [67]. POGIL [68] (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning) groups students in teams of three or four to work on carefully designed, scaffolded problems in chemistry or other subjects.…”

Cooperative learning for faculty: Building communities of practice

“…For communities interested in teaching reform, useful products could include active learning materials, new sets of learning outcomes, or assessment instruments to measure changes in student learning. For example, Murray et al [10] describe a community of practice comprised of biochemistry faculty who worked together to improve active learning materials and create an assessment tool to investigate conceptual understanding of general chemistry and biology that students bring to biochemistry.…”