From CREATE Workshop to Course Implementation: Examining Downstream Impacts on Teaching Practices and Student...

Area of Science:

• STEM Education
• Pedagogical Research
• Science Education Reform

Background:

• Faculty development workshops are common for disseminating STEM teaching innovations.
• Evidence on the long-term impact of faculty development on teaching practices and student outcomes is limited.
• CREATE (Counterfactual Reasoning and Evidence-based Argumentation in Teaching) is an evidence-based strategy for science education using primary literature.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effective implementation of CREATE methods by faculty trained in workshops.
• To determine if students of workshop-trained faculty achieve cognitive and affective gains.
• To explore factors influencing the success of pedagogical reform efforts.

Main Methods:

• Followed 10 faculty members trained in the CREATE method across various US 4-year institutions.
• Conducted external observations to assess the fidelity of CREATE implementation in classrooms.
• Analyzed student outcomes for cognitive (e.g., experimental design) and affective (e.g., self-efficacy) gains.

Main Results:

• External observations confirmed high fidelity in the implementation of CREATE methods by trained faculty.
• Students demonstrated significant cognitive gains, including improved experimental design skills.
• Students showed significant affective gains, particularly in self-efficacy related to science process skills.
• Some student outcomes correlated with institutional characteristics like class size, but not teaching experience.

Conclusions:

• The CREATE dissemination model is robust and effective in promoting evidence-based science teaching.
• Faculty development workshops can lead to successful pedagogical reform when using evidence-based strategies.
• Understanding factors like class size can inform future efforts to scale and support pedagogical innovation in STEM education.