Background: What and how teachers learn through teaching without external guidance has long been of interest to researchers. Yet limited research has been conducted to investigate how learning through teaching occurs. The microgenetic approach (Siegler and Crowley, American Psychologist 46:606-620, 1991) has been useful in identifying the process…

Background: Learning assistants (LAs) are undergraduate students who serve as instructional assistants in STEM classrooms. In addition to engaging in active practice, they take a pedagogy seminar and regularly meet with a content instructor. While aspects of LAs' pedagogical beliefs and actions have been investigated, there remains a gap in…

Background: STEM instructors who leverage student thinking can positively influence student outcomes and build their own teaching expertise. Leveraging student thinking involves using the substance of student thinking to inform instruction. The ways in which instructors leverage student thinking in undergraduate STEM contexts, and what enables…

There has been substantial research undertaken on the integration of computational thinking (CT) in K-12 mathematics education in recent years, particularly since 2018 when relevant systematic reviews were conducted on the topic. Many empirical studies in this area have yet to elaborate clearly and explicitly on how CT may support mathematics…

Background: Even though student-centered instruction leads to positive student outcomes, direct instruction methods are still prevalent. Multiple barriers prevent faculty from further adopting evidence-based student-centered practices and holistic approaches to faculty support are necessary to promote faculty change. The Collaborative for…

Background: An instructor's conceptions of teaching and learning contribute to the establishment of learning environments that may benefit or hinder student learning. Previous studies have defined the continuum of teaching and learning conceptions, ranging from limited to complete, as well as the instructional practices that they help to inform…

Background: Learning assistants (LAs) in undergraduate STEM lectures facilitate discussions between students in small groups. In this research study, we investigate the impact of LA facilitation on student learning as it occurs during LA-student interactions. To do so, our work builds on two sociocultural frameworks focused on LA facilitation and…

Quectures are flipped lectures with embedded 'quecture questions', which employ metacognitive reflection as an active learning intervention. Quecture questions are students' own questions, identified and constructed by students around learning objectives during lectures. The quecture question intervention aims to support each student to engage…

Background: Instructor scaffolding is proved to be an effective means to improve collaborative learning quality, but empirical research indicates discrepancies about the effect of instructor scaffoldings on collaborative programming. Few studies have used multimodal learning analytics (MMLA) to comprehensively analyze the collaborative programming…

Background: Investigations into drivers and barriers to the uptake of learner-centered instructional practices in STEM courses have identified the climate within a department as a potential influential factor. However, few studies have explored the relationship between adoption of learner-centered instructional practices and departmental climate…

Background: In college science laboratory and discussion sections, student-centered active learning strategies have been implemented to improve student learning outcomes and experiences. Research has shown that active learning activities can increase student anxiety if students fear that they could be negatively evaluated by their peers. Error…

A considerable body of evidence demonstrates that active, student-centered instructional practices are more effective than lecture-based, transmissionist approaches in improving undergraduate STEM learning. Despite this evidence and extensive reform initiatives, the majority of STEM instructors continue to teach didactically. Awareness of teaching…

Background: A faculty development program was implemented over four years at a 4-year regional comprehensive university and two partnering community colleges. This project was focused on improving student learning in introductory Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) courses at each institution, by helping faculty adopt inclusive,…

Background: Unplugged programming is proved to be an effective means to foster the learner-centered programming learning. In addition to the final tests, learners' programming knowledge, skills, and capacities are primarily demonstrated throughout the programming process, particularly in the situation when they encounter challenges and problems.…

Background: The Classroom Observation Project employs direct observations of geoscience teaching across the USA using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) to quantify the use of reformed teaching practices. We report on 345 RTOP observations used to evaluate the extent of teaching reform when curricular materials developed as part of…