We describe the development and validation of a new instrument, the Classroom Discourse Observation Protocol (CDOP), which quantifies teacher discourse moves (TDMs) from observational data in undergraduate STEM classrooms. TDMs can be conceptualized as epistemic tools that can mediate classroom discussions. Through an inductive–deductive coding process, we identified commonly occurring TDMs among a group of biology instructors ( n = 13, 37 class session) teaching in Active Learning Environments. We describe the CDOP coding scheme and its associated matrix that allows observers to reliably characterize TDMs in 2-min time intervals over the course of a class period. We present the protocol, discuss how it differs from existing classroom observation protocols, and describe the process by which it was developed and validated. Also, we show how this protocol is able to discriminate the discursive practices of instructors teaching in undergraduate STEM learning environments with sample qualitative and quantitative results that illustrate its utility for assessing and improving STEM instructional practices.

Reform efforts in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instruction often emphasize student-centered teaching approaches, but relatively little attention is paid to the way STEM teachers use discourse when interacting with their students. In the present study, we examined the instructional and discourse behaviors of biology faculty members (N = 20) teaching in undergraduate biology classes. Although we found that the biology teachers spent most of their time guiding student learning in active learning activities and less time presenting, an analysis of their classroom communicative approaches showed that the participants mostly used authoritative and not dialogic discourse to teach biology content. Similarly, we found a strong positive correlation between biology teachers guiding student learning and authoritative, interactive approaches, suggesting that these teachers mostly asked the students to recall facts or basic concepts rather than asking them to collaboratively build knowledge. We describe the implications of these findings and our results for undergraduate biology instruction.

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