Promoting instructional change via co-teaching

Abstract

Physics Education Research ͑PER͒ has made significant progress in developing effective instructional strategies, but disseminating the background knowledge and strategies to other faculty has proven difficult. Co-teaching is a promising and cost-effective alternative to traditional professional development which may be applicable in particular situations. We discuss the theoretical background of co-teaching and describe our initial experience with it. A new instructor ͑Famiano͒ co-taught an introductory calculus-based physics course with an instructor experienced in PER-based reforms ͑Henderson͒. The pair taught within the course structure typically used by Henderson and met regularly to discuss instructional decisions. An outsider ͑Beach͒ conducted separate interviews with each instructor and observed several class sessions. Classroom observations show an immediate use of PER-based instructional practices by the new instructor. Interviews show a significant shift in the new instructor's beliefs about teaching and intentions of future use of PER-based instructional approaches.

Sixteen years of collaborative learning through active sense-making in physics (CLASP) at UC Davis

“…Because no instructor teaches alone, it turns out that this course is a good way to introduce new instructors to teaching CLASP. As discussed by Henderson et al, 29 this is also a natural way to promote instructional change because the course materials provide scaffolding that allows new instructors as well as more senior faculty to practice teaching an interactive class. Co-teaching a CLASP course also provides a vehicle for an advanced graduate student to practice lecturing under the mentorship of an experienced faculty member teaching the course with him/her.…”

“…Both course development efforts were responses to the desire to incorporate extensive collaborative group work in large-enrollment courses, similar to that being done in smaller-enrollment studio-style courses. 11 In both CLASP and SCALE-UP, lecture mode is minimized with students working primarily in small groups for 4-6 h per week; however, in CLASP students are in sections of [25][26][27][28][29][30] students working at tables of five, while in SCALE-UP students are in rooms with up to 90 students working at tables of nine. In this respect CLASP is more similar to studio-style courses than to SCALE-UP.…”

Lecturer’s and assistant’s views on collaborative teaching at the university

“…Kuna kõrgkoolide ressursinappus pärsib meeskonnaõppe kasutamist (Andersson & Bendix, 2006;Henderson, Beach, & Famiano, 2009;Plank, 2011), on ühe lahendusena välja pakutud kõrgema õppeastme üliõpilaste kaasa mist (Park, 2004). Üliõpilaste rakendamine assistentidena 2 ei tekita rahalisi kohustusi, võimaldab kõrgkoolil investeerida tudengite professionaalsesse arengusse 2 Kuigi assistent võib tähistada ka ametikohta kõrgkoolis (nt Tartu Ülikoolis), on artiklis kasutatud seda sõna sellise üliõpilasest kaasõppejõu tähenduses, kes õpetab madalama õppeastme kursusel.…”

“…Üliõpilastest assistentide vajalikkus on seda ilmsem, mida rohkem kasutatakse kõrgkoolides suurtele rühmadele mõeldud e-õpet. Assistente kaasatakse sageli tagasi sidestajana ja õppetöö vaatlejana (Henderson et al, 2009), kohati aga ei osale tagasisidestajad auditoorsel õppetööl üldse.…”

A Report on a Project to Introduce Computation into a Modern Physics Course and Laboratory

“…Changes to the laboratory portion started in Spring 2010, when the same instructor was assigned to teach both the course and the two associated laboratory sections. It is known 7 that it takes time for changes to the curriculum to be accepted, and that was the case with this course. In the beginning students were reluctant to see computation as part of a physics lab.…”