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Improved Student Learning through a Faculty Learning Community: How Faculty Collaboration Transformed a Large-Enrollment Course from Lecture to Student Centered.

ABSTRACT: Undergraduate introductory biology courses are changing based on our growing understanding of how students learn and rapid scientific advancement in the biological sciences. At Iowa State University, faculty instructors are transforming a second-semester large-enrollment introductory biology course to include active learning within the lecture setting. To support this change, we set up a faculty learning community (FLC) in which instructors develop new pedagogies, adapt active-learning strategies to large courses, discuss challenges and progress, critique and revise classroom interventions, and share materials. We present data on how the collaborative work of the FLC led to increased implementation of active-learning strategies and a concurrent improvement in student learning. Interestingly, student learning gains correlate with the percentage of classroom time spent in active-learning modes. Furthermore, student attitudes toward learning biology are weakly positively correlated with these learning gains. At our institution, the FLC framework serves as an agent of iterative emergent change, resulting in the creation of a more student-centered course that better supports learning.

SUBMITTER: Elliott ER

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4909344 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Improved Student Learning through a Faculty Learning Community: How Faculty Collaboration Transformed a Large-Enrollment Course from Lecture to Student Centered.

Elliott Emily R ER Reason Robert D RD Coffman Clark R CR Gangloff Eric J EJ Raker Jeffrey R JR Powell-Coffman Jo Anne JA Ogilvie Craig A CA

CBE life sciences education 20160101 2

Undergraduate introductory biology courses are changing based on our growing understanding of how students learn and rapid scientific advancement in the biological sciences. At Iowa State University, faculty instructors are transforming a second-semester large-enrollment introductory biology course to include active learning within the lecture setting. To support this change, we set up a faculty learning community (FLC) in which instructors develop new pedagogies, adapt active-learning strategie ...[more]

PMID: 27252298

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Project description:BackgroundAs digital learning becomes more prevalent and important in health professions education, learning technologists play increasingly central roles in designing and delivering learning materials. However, little is understood about the process by which learning technologists have integrated into the existing teaching and learning ecosystem, and it seems that they remain marginal and undervalued. Our aim in this paper was therefore to examine the process of interprofessional co-development of course materials as experienced by educators and learning technologists.MethodsOur approach was qualitative, using individual semi-structured interviews (conducted between July 2021 to May 2022) to explore the working relationship between faculty and learning technologists. Transcripts were analysed abductively.ResultsWe found that the attitudes of both faculty and learning technologists towards collaborating to drive digital adoption in health professions education fell into two main themes: "embrace" and "replace" - and "conflict", which we present as a third theme. Our results revealed that faculty did not take an active and agentic role in developing their digital practices in respect of education delivery. Learning technologists positioned themselves as a resource to support faculty's knowledge and skill gap in digital competence. There was an obvious power differential between the two groups: learning technologists lacked agency and seemed in the position of servants to faculty masters. This created barriers to effective collaboration.ConclusionsBy examining the process of co-development of course materials by faculty and learning technologists, we open up a space to examine the social, relational and organisational complexities associated with interprofessional collaboration in digital health professions education. Our study also has important implications for guiding educational policy to better position learning technologists to effectively collaborate with faculty and realise the potential of digital health professions education.

Dataset Information

Improved Student Learning through a Faculty Learning Community: How Faculty Collaboration Transformed a Large-Enrollment Course from Lecture to Student Centered.

Publications

Improved Student Learning through a Faculty Learning Community: How Faculty Collaboration Transformed a Large-Enrollment Course from Lecture to Student Centered.

Similar Datasets

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