A growing body of research has been characterizing factors influencing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) instructors’ teaching decisions. The focus of these studies has mostly been on identifying barriers and drivers to their implementation of evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs). Many factors may contribute to an instructor’s decision process, but these EBIPs are not one size fits all; each has unique features that may have different appeal depending on the instructor and their context of instruction. As such, looking holistically at barriers and drivers of EBIPs may not be enough. In this study, we sought to understand how future STEM faculty members (STEM upper level undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at a research-intensive institution who are interested in pursuing a career in academia) perceive a selected set of EBIPs (peer instruction and 5E worksheet) and what factors or experiences with these practices play a role in their decisions to incorporate them in their teaching. We leveraged the Teacher-Centered Systematic Reform Model and the Diffusion of Innovation Theory to design data collection and conduct our analyses. A multiple case study was conducted with five future faculty as they were introduced to and experienced the selected EBIPs during a course in which they were enrolled in the Spring of 2021. The results of this study will provide a nuanced description of the factors that impacted the decision-making process these future faculty members engaged in when considering the adoption of reformed practices. These findings will be beneficial for instructional reform developers who conduct professional development training in STEM at the postsecondary level.

To implement or not to implement: A multiple case study of peer instruction & the 5E worksheet

ACS Spring 2022

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