The Lawrence Hall of Science, with support from the University of California Berkeley Center for Teaching and Learning and Educational Technology Services, is developing the Faculty Learning Program for changing STEM undergraduate faculty instructional practices and improving student learning gains and experiences in large STEM lecture courses. The project team is developing a blended professional learning program to deepen faculty understanding of how learning happens, and develop their abilities to facilitate discourse opportunities to support student learning in their classes. Faculty members are also learning to use digital technologies to "flip their classrooms" as a means to create time during lecture for students to reflect, explain, argue, and talk science with their classmates and instructor. The changed instructional practice requires faculty to rethink their role in teaching, and thus redefine how lecture courses are designed and taught. The goal of Redefining the College Lecture project is to improve university STEM faculty instructional practice through a blended professional learning program that nurtures a learning community, provides continuous support, and is situated within their everyday work.
The intellectual merit of this project lies in the distinctive design which creates an adaptable and adoptable professional learning (PL) program for changing STEM undergraduate faculty instructional practices. The project leverages the PI's experiences and proven ability to develop PL programs as demonstrated through prior NSF projects; collaborators bring online learning technology expertise. The support and involvement of STEM Deans and Chairs, STEM faculty, faculty development staff, and the Vice Provost reflect strong institutional commitment. Three bodies of literature support the project's theoretical framework and program design. First, professional learning, which has been found to have significant positive impacts on knowledge and use of effective pedagogy, involves developing faculty STEM education expertise within a learning community situated within their everyday work. Second, students' learning of complex STEM concepts is facilitated by student discourse including opportunities to talk, argue, and defend their ideas with peers and the instructor. Third, online technologies, used strategically with knowledge of evidence-based practices, are powerful tools that can be leveraged to support learning in university courses.
The broader impacts of the project arise from the fact that within the three institutions participating, up to 102 STEM faculty will have participated in an in-depth professional learning program and applied what they learned in the reconceptualization of their role in the lecture hall, and the redesign and instruction of their existing courses. This will result in an impact in the educational experience of over 18,000 students. The collaborative, customized nature of the professional learning program's design and implementation at each university and the inclusion of faculty development centers will position it to be sustained beyond the three-year tenure of this grant.
