Anatomy of STEM Teaching in American Universities: A Snapshot from a Large-Scale Observation Study

Authors

Marilyne Stains, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Jordan Harshman, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Megan K. Barker, Simon Fraser University
Stephanie V. Chasteen, University of Colorado, Boulder
Renee Cole, University of Iowa
Sue Ellen DeChenne-Peters, Armstrong State UniversityFollow
M. Kevin Eagan Jr., University of California, Los Angeles
Joan M. Esson, Otterbein University
Jennifer K. Knight, University of Colorado, BoulderFollow
Frank A. Laski, University of California, Los Angeles
Marc Levis-Fitzgerald, University of California, Los Angeles
Christopher J. Lee, University of California, Los Angeles
Stanley M. Lo, University of California - San Diego
Lisa M. McDonnell, University of British Columbia
Timothy A. McKay, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Nicole Michelotti, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Michael S. Palmer, University of Virginia
Kathryn M. Plank, Otterbein University
Tamara M. Rodela, University of British Columbia
Erin R. Sanders, University of California, Los Angeles
Natalie G. Schimpf, University of British Columbia
Patricia M. Schulte, University of British Columbia
Michelle Smith, University of Maine
MacKenzie Stetzer, University of Maine
Jackie Stewart, University of British Columbia
Blaire Van Valkenburgh, University of California, Los Angeles
Erin Vinson, University of Maine
Laura K. Weir, University of British Columbia
Paul J. Wendel, Otterbein University
Lindsay B. Wheeler, University of Virginia
Anna M. Young, Otterbein University

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2018

Citation

Science. 2018 March 30; 359(6383): 1468–1470.

Comments

HHS Public Access

doi:10.1126/science.aap8892

Abstract

National and local initiatives focused on the transformation of STEM teaching in higher education have multiplied over the last decade. These initiatives often focus on measuring change in instructional practices, but it is difficult to monitor such change without a national picture of STEM educational practices, especially as characterized by common observational instruments. We characterized a snapshot of this landscape by conducting the first large scale observation-based study. We found that lecturing was prominent throughout the undergraduate STEM curriculum, even in classrooms with infrastructure designed to support active learning, indicating that further work is required to reform STEM education. Additionally, we established that STEM faculty’s instructional practices can vary substantially within a course, invalidating the commonly-used teaching evaluations based on a one-time observation.