Using Pathway Modeling to Evaluate and Improve Student-Centered Teaching Practices in Co-Taught College Science...

Area of Science:

• Science Education
• Higher Education Pedagogy

Background:

• Student-centered teaching, including active learning, is increasingly adopted in college science.
• Widespread implementation faces challenges due to instructional complexity, especially for co-instructors.
• Existing tools often focus on multi-course mapping, not single-course innovation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce course pathway modeling as a tool for managing student-centered teaching innovations.
• To demonstrate how pathway modeling aids co-instructors in representing and implementing complex teaching practices.
• To explore the potential of pathway modeling for enhancing course design, evaluation, and communication.

Main Methods:

• The essay introduces course pathway modeling as a visual mapping technique for individual courses.
• It contrasts pathway modeling with traditional curriculum mapping.
• Guides for creating course pathway models are provided.

Main Results:

• Course pathway modeling visually represents how teaching practices impact student learning outcomes over time.
• This method helps co-instructors manage the complexity of student-centered classrooms.
• The approach can clarify instructional design and communication among co-instructors.

Conclusions:

• Pathway modeling is a valuable tool for co-instructors implementing student-centered science teaching.
• It has the potential to improve course design, student assessment, and inter-instructor communication.
• This visual approach can facilitate the adoption of innovative teaching practices in higher education science.