NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1251118
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1089-9995
EISSN: N/A
Motivators and Inhibitors to Change: Why and How Geoscience Faculty Modify Their Course Content and Teaching Methods
Riihimaki, Catherine A.; Viskupic, Karen
Journal of Geoscience Education, v68 n2 p115-132 2020
The call to improve undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education can be answered by undergraduate faculty modifying their course content and teaching methods to generate better student outcomes. The National Geoscience Faculty Survey--administered in 2004, 2009, 2012, and 2016--provides evidence that the vast majority of geoscience faculty recently modified their course content in a variety of ways, and about half recently adjusted their teaching methods toward more student-centered approaches. Respondents from across many different subgroups (e.g., institution type, position, and class type) are equally likely to modify content, perhaps reflecting the importance of current events, societal issues, and recent research findings to undergraduate geoscience education. In contrast, whether a respondent modified his or her teaching methods in the last two years varies strongly across subgroups. Two predictors of whether respondents modified their teaching methods is whether they also modified content, with respondents who changed their course content almost twice as likely to have also changed their teaching methods and how frequently they speak to colleagues about teaching, with more frequent discussion correlated with a higher percentage of faculty changing teaching methods. A major inhibitor to making course modifications is time constraints, and the promotion and tenure process may play a role in inhibiting change. The results indicate that the geoscience community approach of embedding discussions of teaching methods within workshops, webinars, and modules that primarily focus on teaching specific content may be an effective means of improving STEM education more broadly.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: DUE0127310; DUE0127141; DUE0127257; DUE0127018; DUE0618482; DUE0618725; DUE0618533; DUE1022680; DUE1022776; DUE1022844; DUE1022910; DUE1125331; DUE1525593; 1524605; 1524623; 1524800