Teaching workshops fail to spur learner-centered teaching
Professional development workshops for college teachers, designed to encourage the use of active, “learner-centered” teaching methods, may be less effective than the participants believe, according to research reported in the July issue of BioScience. Diane Ebert-May of Michigan State University and her colleagues studied the teaching of participants in two such established programs for faculty teaching introductory biology courses. Although after the workshops most of the faculty judged themselves to be providing the favored, learner-centered teaching, which encourages student engagement and exploration rather than lecture-style presentations, analysis of video recordings showed that most of the participants were still using traditional styles of teaching up to two years later. More experienced teachers were less likely to adopt the favored teaching styles than early-career teachers.
…..Ebert-May and her coauthors conclude that changes are needed in professional development programs if they are to bring about real improvements in teaching practice. In particular, they favor providing participating faculty with more opportunities for direct practice of what they have learned. “Instant replays of teaching with expert commentary may become our most powerful tool to improve outcomes,” they conclude.