Oral Presentations: Session A

Michigan State University's Department of Physics and Astronomy is engaged in a major transformation of its introductory courses for both physical science and engineering majors as well as life science majors. Over the next 3 years, we will transition all of our introductory course offerings to make full use of research-based instructional strategies (RBIS) while working to incorporate greater cross-disciplinary learning opportunities into our instruction (e.g., science practices and biologically-inspired content). Students whose major requires both lecture and laboratory work will receive instruction in a new studio physics environment that integrates theory, experiment, and computation. Students whose major requirements only involve lecture will receive instruction in a new problem-based learning environment that integrates theory and computation. This transition represents the culmination of more than five years of work to develop learning environments that make use of RBIS and cross-disciplinary ideas while also developing faculty buy-in and expertise, constructing sustainable instructional models, and gaining broader institutional buy-in to support this change. This move impacts nearly two dozen faculty, roughly 40 graduate teaching assistants, and more than 80 undergraduate learning assistants who will facilitate student learning in these environments in addition to the more than 8000 students who will be taking these introductory physics courses each year. We will present the story of how this transformation came about including how we developed faculty buy-in for change and how broader institutional initiatives facilitated further growth. We will discuss how the Department of Physics and Astronomy is now positioned to continue to innovate and serve as a model for the rest of the institution as we move into a new STEM teaching and learning building intended to continue to foster greater cross-disciplinary instructional collaborations.

Michigan State University has adopted a transformation approach for introductory science courses based on the vision for science teaching and learning described in the NRC Framework for K-12 Science Education. This approach integrates deep understanding of core ideas with scientific practices and crosscutting concepts to yield what is referred to as Three-Dimensional Learning (3DL). Levers for the transformation included discussions among faculty in the disciplines, a professional development fellowship focused on 3DL, and among others, support from administrative leaders. We used our previously published protocol, the Three-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol (3D-LAP), to characterize the extent of change in introductory science course assessments over time with respect to 3DL. We applied the 3D-LAP to approximately 4,000 assessment items from four years of chemistry, biology, and physics exams and found that the results of the transformation efforts varied across disciplines. We will describe the disciplinary differences and discuss how departmental culture, course organization, and perceived course ownership impacted change efforts. The results demonstrate that (1) the 3D-LAP can be used as a tool to study the extent of change in transformation efforts and (2) change is controlled by course and departmental level situational factors.

In this presentation we will share our recommendations for embedded experts; faculty and postdocs with education expertise, embedded within departments. We will share lessons-learned in partnering effectively with faculty, and how to get started and get better at this course transformation work. Come share your own challenges and successes, and learn from our conversations and reflections with the dozens of people who have held these sorts of positions! These recommendations form a significant part of our newly released SEI Handbook, available free online at https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/seihandbook/. The SEI Handbook shares the accumulated wisdom of practice in how to effectively implement a model of change based on the SEIs at CU Boulder and UBC: It is divided into three parts in consideration of the three main groups involved in such an initiative: initiative leaders, departmental leaders, and the embedded experts (whom we call discipline-based education specialists, or DBESs). This presentation is aimed directly at the DBESs.