While many reports and studies call for college instructors to adopt active learning pedagogies, wide-spread adoption of evidence-based practices has yet to be achieved. The most common methods of promoting active learning pedagogies – publications, conference symposia, presentations, and websites – are suitable for raising awareness or providing access to materials, but are not sufficient for sustained changes to instructional practice. More intense and collaborative forms of professional development are needed to bring about changes in instructor knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs that lead to changes in classroom and laboratory instruction and then to improvements in student learning. Here we describe a process designed to promote the sustained adoption of active learning strategies by instructors at a wide range of institutions. This process includes multi-day introductory workshops, an online community to facilitate regular updates, regional meetings, and site visits. Results of the project thus far indicate that the approach has been successful in building a community of instructors engaged in evidence-based practices. This presentation will focus on the successes and challenges encountered in developing a program that results in instructors effectively implementing active learning strategies.

Building a community of engaged instructors

ACS Fall 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.