What variables predict teaching practice? Outcomes of FIRST IV professional development

Background/Question/Methods

The need for training future faculty in inquiry-based, learner-centered instruction and then empirically evaluating the efficacy of that training is a high priority for improving undergraduate education in science (Brewer and Smith et al. 2011, Alberts 2011, PCAST 2012). Faculty Institutes for Reforming Science Teaching (FIRST) IV is an evidence-based national training project focusing on professional development in biology instruction for postdoctoral scholars. The goal of FIRST IV was to develop early-career biology faculty who implement and cultivate pedagogical theory and techniques shown to facilitate student learning and retention in the biological sciences. Using quantitative data derived from direct observation of teaching, self-reported instruments by instructors and students, and analysis of course materials, we determined the set of variables that predict how postdocs implement classroom instruction.

Results/Conclusions

We directly observed teaching by applying the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) instrument to videos of FIRST IV participants teaching a course during the program, and evaluated the degree to which postdocs used learner-centered pedagogy. In addition, we characterized instructors’ beliefs about the course(s) that they taught, and collected data about instructor teaching background and classroom context. Results indicate that a majority of FIRST IV postdocs (74%) successfully implemented learner-centered teaching practices while participating in the program; the remainder all used some degree of student engagement. Furthermore, instructor beliefs and perceptions about their teaching, and their knowledge of pedagogy, were important variables in predictive models of learner-centered in-class instruction.