Observation Protocol for Active Learning (OPAL) - Washington University in St. Louis

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Peer Reviewed ✔ | Editorial Board Score: 11/18


Washington University in St. Louis

Washington University in St. Louis/The Teaching Center/Center for Integrative Research on Cognition, Learning, and Education (CIRCLE

Contact: Mark McDaniel (markmcdaniel@wustl.edu)

About

The Observation Protocol for Active Learning (OPAL) can be used to collect research data, and also to consult and collaborate with STEM faculty to provide feedback on, and support for, their teaching innovations. OPAL tracks coded activities to provide instructors with a picture of what is happening—and when it is happening—during the observed class period. Collecting observational data from classrooms using OPAL may motivate faculty to change classroom practices, but this has not been the aim of research conducted using OPAL thus far. In typical uses of OPAL by faculty, OPAL has been combined with other methods to evaluate teaching and allow faculty to reflect on their teaching practices in order to make personal teaching choices. Data published using OPAL have answered specific research questions about classroom practices or behaviors

The Teaching Center/Center for Integrative Research on Cognition, Learning, and Education has published on the use of OPAL, and an adapted protocol similar to OPAL focused on identifying gender inequities in student participation in STEM courses. Please see York, Fink, Stoen, Walck-Shannon, Wally, Lou, Young, & Frey (2021) for more information. Additionally, please refer to A visual approach to helping instructors integrate, document, and refine active learning (Frey et al., 2016) and A mixed method investigation of clicker implementation styles in STEM (Solomon, et al., 2018) for more information.

The OPAL protocol is related but distinct from COPUS in the following ways.

  • OPAL allows for tallying every question and answer posed during 2-minute intervals.
  • OPAL incorporates instructor and student codes into both a detailed timeline and streamlined timeline as a visual aid for instructors to reflect on.
  • OPAL provides behavioral codes for note-taking and attention levels of students.
  • OPAL combines some of the features from COPUS with features from other protocols such as the Teaching Dimensions Observation Protocol (TDOP) and items specifically developed by the research team at CIRCLE.

More information about this initiative »

Notes from the Teaching Evaluation Repository Editorial Board

This tool would be very useful for faculty to get a sense of what is going on in their active learning classroom. The link toFrey et al., 2016 gives so much information about the use of this tool.

Additional Information

Audience: College/university staff, Teaching center staff, Departmental leaders, Graduate students & postdoctoral fellows, Faculty with long-term appointments, Faculty with short-term appointments, Institution administration

Level of Intervention: Teaching center, Institution - administration, Institution - shared governance

Resource Type: Website

Institution Type: R1, Private

Scale of Change: 3-5 years, Self-implemented, Redesign of teaching evaluation only

Primary Teaching and Learning Context: Multiple contexts

Tools/Materials for Evaluation: Peer observation, Observation tools (e.g., COPUS, EQUIP), Rubrics (e.g., Teval), Self-evaluation tools, Formative assessment tools for instructors, Willing to share materials

Processes for Revising Teaching Evaluation: Grassroots efforts, Senior-level administrative leaders

Research-Based Pedagogies: Active learning, Multiple pedagogies