ERIC Number: EJ970855
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Apr
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0006-3568
EISSN: N/A
A Faculty-Development Model for Transforming Introductory Biology and Ecology Courses
D'Avanzo, Charlene; Anderson, Charles W.; Hartley, Laurel M.; Pelaez, Nancy
BioScience, v62 n4 p416-427 Apr 2012
The Diagnostic Question Cluster (DQC) project integrates education research and faculty development to articulate a model for the effective transformation of introductory biology and ecology teaching. Over three years, faculty members from a wide range of institutions used active teaching and DQCs, a type of concept inventory, as pre- and posttests to assess students' understanding of concepts about energy and matter across biological scales of organization. Surveys of the instructors indicated a substantial use of DQCs and active teaching, and nearly all of those faculty members participating in the research saw significant student gains and a large positive effect size between the pre- and posttests. Important programmatic components included reliable research-based conceptual questions and the associated active-learning exercises; formative examination of preinstruction data, including the students' written answers; a professional society for recruitment, workshops, and dissemination; progressive faculty growth over three years; and cooperative communities of practice. We propose that research-based conceptual inventories can be effective tools in faculty-development programs offered through biology professional societies.
Descriptors: Communities of Practice, Ecology, Biology, Faculty Development, College Faculty, Biological Sciences, Science Education, Teaching Methods, Surveys, Teacher Attitudes, Pretests Posttests, Educational Research, Professional Development, Models
American Institute of Biological Sciences. 1444 I Street NW Suite 200, Washington, DC 20005. Tel: 202-628-1500; Fax: 202-628-1509; e-mail: bioscience@aibs.org; Web site: http://www.aibs.org/bioscience
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A