Academic Papers
To provide or not to provide course PowerPoint slides? The impact of instructor-provided slides upon student attendance and performance
As PowerPoint has pervaded today's college classrooms, instructors have struggled with the issue of whether or not to provide students' with copies of course PowerPoint slides (instructor-provided slides). While students report that such slides assist them academically, many instructors have expressed concerns that these slides encourage absenteeism and classroom passivity. To help assess the academic impact of instructor-provided slides, the present study examined two semesters of students' progress in a communication theory course. Across these semesters, the study charted the relationship between access/use of various types of instructor-provided slides on class attendance and exam performance. In its key findings, the study found that instructor-provided slides had no impact on class attendance and an adverse impact on course performance for students using these slides in their notetaking process.
Developing an Instrument for Teacher Feedback: Using the Rasch Model to Explore Teachers’ Development of Effective Teaching Strategies and Behaviors
This study connects descriptions of effective teaching with descriptions of teacher development to advance an initial understanding of how effective teaching may develop. The study’s main premise is that descriptions of effective teaching develop cumulatively where more basic teaching strategies and behaviors are required before teachers may advance to more complex teaching behaviors. The sample incorporates teaching behaviors observed across 878 classrooms. Teaching behaviors were observed using the International Comparative Analysis of Learning and Teaching (ICALT) observation protocol. Using Rasch analysis, the study reveals that 31 of 32 effective teaching behaviors fit cumulative ordering. The ordering also parallels descriptions of teacher development. Together the results indicate that the instrument is a potentially useful tool to describe teachers’ development of effective teaching.
Quality of teaching in higher education: reviewing teaching behaviour through classroom observations
This study examines the extent to which lecturers demonstrate effective teaching behaviour. The results of 203 observations reveal substantial differences in detected teaching behaviour. Lecturers mostly demonstrated teaching behaviour in the domains classroom climate, efficient organisation, and instruction. Teaching behaviour relating to the domains activating teaching and teaching learning strategies was observed less frequently, with almost no evidence of behaviour associated with the domain differentiation. The quality of teaching in small classes was slightly higher than that in large classes. These findings can help tailor professional learning activities to lecturers’ professional development needs.
Active Learning Increases Student Performance in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics
This article compares the effectiveness of traditional lecture-based teaching with active learning in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at the university level. The authors conducted a meta-analysis of 225 studies, analysing test scores and failure rates in STEM courses that used either traditional lectures or active learning. The findings indicate that average exam scores improved by approximately 6% in courses with active learning, and students in traditional lecture classes were 1.5 times more likely to fail compared to those exposed to active learning.
Creating shared spaces: developing teaching through peer supervision groups
This article examines how university teachers from different disciplines and faculties collaborate by giving feedback on each other’s teaching. This collaborative activity, termed Peer Supervision Groups (PSG), is part of a faculty development course at a Norwegian university. Conceptually the study draws on activity theoretical notions of boundary crossing and boundary objects and is empirically based on observations of a PSG over a period of six months. The article examines how collaborative interactions about teaching across communities emerge in the PSG setting and how this arrangement can be improved for the benefit of developing teaching practices in higher education.
Why are we teaching science wrong, and how to make it right?
This article discusses the need for a shift in the way science is taught, emphasizing the effectiveness of active learning methods over traditional lectures. It highlights examples of innovative teaching approaches in undergraduate science classes, where students actively engage with course material, discuss and debate concepts, and work in teams to apply their knowledge. The article presents evidence from various studies that support the idea that active learning leads to better retention of information and improved student performance. While active learning is gaining support from both students and administrators, some faculty members remain resistant, citing concerns about time and control in the classroom. The article also addresses the need for changes in the university incentive system to encourage more focus on teaching innovation in academic careers. Overall, it underscores the importance of active learning in improving science education.
Why Peer Discussion Improves Student Performance on In-Class Concept Questions
When students answer an in-class conceptual question individually using clickers, discuss it with their neighbors, and then revote on the same question, the percentage of correct answers typically increases. This outcome could result from gains in understanding during discussion, or simply from peer influence of knowledgeable students on their neighbors. To distinguish between these alternatives in an undergraduate genetics course, we followed the above exercise with a second, similar (isomorphic) question on the same concept that students answered individually. Our results indicate that peer discussion enhances understanding, even when none of the students in a discussion group originally knows the correct answer.
Student perspectives on how different elements of constructive alignment support active learning
Constructive alignment is often promoted as a principle to enhance the quality of learning but the student perspective has often been neglected when exploring its influence on student learning. There is therefore a need to further explore how students’ experiences of the different elements of constructive alignment influence the approach to learning they adopt. Student perceptions and their approaches to learning were analysed. The results show that different elements of constructive alignment had a clear role in guiding student learning. The teaching and assessment related factors appeared to play a crucial role in guiding student learning and studying. Teaching and assessment that required students’ active involvement clearly encouraged students to adopt a deep approach to learning whereas the opposite was true for more traditionally organised courses. The intended learning outcomes did not seem to influence student learning much. The results also imply that the key is to find an optimal level of challenge to support student learning and studying. The study deepens our understanding of the importance and influence of constructively aligned teaching to students’ learning processes.
What makes an expert university teacher? A systematic review and synthesis of frameworks for teacher expertise in higher education
The article explores the qualities that define an expert university teacher by seeking consensus on core tasks essential for teacher expertise in higher education. Through a systematic review, 46 frameworks on teacher expertise were analysed, resulting in the identification of six key tasks: teaching and supporting learning, educational design, assessment and feedback, educational leadership and management, educational scholarship and research, and professional development. Additionally, three dimensions of task-related development were highlighted: improved performance, task versatility, and expanded influence. This synthesis, named the UNIversity Teacher Expertise (UNITE) model, provides a structured view of teacher expertise, supporting reflection and development for university faculty and guiding future research.