The Classroom Discourse Observation Protocol (CDOP): A quantitative method for characterizing teacher discourse moves in undergraduate STEM learning environments

Abstract

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.

Comparison of Cluster Analysis Methodologies for Characterization of Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS) Data

“…I, instructor behaviors; S, student behaviors. Liu et al, 2018;Solomon et al, 2018;Kranzfelder et al, 2019;Riddle et al, 2020;Reisner et al, 2020), to identify particular course or instruct or characteristics that may correlate with specific COPUS codes using regression analyses (Tomkin et al, 2019), and to cluster COPUS course profiles (Stains et al, 2018). The benefit of cluster analysis is that it allows researchers to take a deeper and more holistic look at the COPUS data rather than rely on drawing conclusions from select COPUS codes.…”

“…Due to the increasing prevalence of COPUS data collection and presentation in education research, it is important to consider how researchers analyze these data. The most common tactic is to present COPUS data in a descriptive form, highlighting particular codes of interest and often comparing the relative presence of these codes between two scenarios (Smith et al, 2013;Weaver et al, 2015;Lewin et al, 2016;Akiha et al, 2017;McVey et al, 2017;Jiang and Li, 2018;Liu et al, 2018;Solomon et al, 2018;Kranzfelder et al, 2019;Riddle et al, 2020;Reisner et al, 2020). For example, Lewin et al (2016) highlighted the frequency of the Instructor Lecturing code for classes that used clickers and those that did not.…”

Development of the Sci-math Sensemaking Framework: categorizing sensemaking of mathematical equations in science

“…Many frameworks or protocols have been proposed to describe or measure instructional practice or discourse in mathematics or science classrooms, e.g., Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (Smith, Jones, Gilbert, & Wieman, 2013), Classroom Discourse Observation Protocol (Kranzfelder et al, 2019), Instructional Quality Assessment (Boston, 2012), Mathematical Quality of Instruction (Learning Mathematics for Teaching Project, 2011), and Reformed-Oriented Teaching Observation Protocol (Sawada et al, 2002). Very few frameworks specifically discuss instruction of mathematics in science classrooms.…”

Breakout Rooms, Polling, and Chat, Oh My! The Development and Validation of Online COPUS

“…Also, it has been a useful tool to document in-person active learning activities at different levels, such as at the department (Kranzfelder et al, 2020), the institutional , and at multi-institutional levels (Akiha et al, 2018;Smith et al, 2013;Stains et al, 2018), as well as to document the impacts of educational initiatives for research (Akiha et al, 2018;Lund et al, 2015;Stains et al, 2018), professional development (Reisner et al, 2020;Tomkin et al, 2019), and tenure, merit, and promotion (Reisner et al, 2020). COPUS findings have also been clustered in different ways to compare results (Denaro et al, 2021) and has been used in combination with other tools, such the Classroom Discourse Observation Protocol (CDOP), (Kranzfelder, Bankers-Fulbright, et al, 2019). Moreover, COPUS results can be offered as an instructor-friendly visual representation documenting the frequency of instructors' use of active learning practices for different purposes (Kranzfelder et al, 2020;Reisner et al, 2020;Smith et al, 2014).…”