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Scholarly Works (6 results)

  • Thesis
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UC Irvine Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2021)

There is a need in higher education to improve STEM instruction to increase retention, particularly of minoritized students. Student-centered instruction (SCI) requires students to be engaged in the classroom and interact with their peers. Previous research has revealed the benefits of student-centered instruction (SCI) (Theobald, 2020). However, less is known about the relationship of SCI with outcomes other than course grades. Student perspectives of SCI teaching methods are also less prevalent in the literature. Additionally, much of the literature combines all minoritized students together from a variety of settings despite heterogeneous differences between types of university contexts and racially minoritized groups. Therefore, this dissertation focuses on assessing student perspectives of student-centered instruction which includes psychosocial and motivational perspectives and the perspective of Latine students in STEM courses.

Study 1 surveyed 57 STEM classrooms over the course of 5 quarters on relationship building, test anxiety, self-efficacy, and task value. Findings show that being in a SCI course increased peer relationships and increased self-efficacy. However, there was also an increase in test anxiety in SCI courses. Findings also suggested that the more Latine students within a course with SCI decreased the level of test anxiety.

Study 2 investigated the academic course grade differences in four contexts: 1) SCI course within the student-centered building 2) SCI course within a traditional building 3) didactic course within the student-centered building and 4) didactic course in a traditional building. There were no significant grade differences in the different contexts. However, higher class size was related to lower course grades suggesting the learning environment plays a role in academic success.

Finally, Study 3 explored the minoritized student perspective of a student-centered course and the types of capital minoritized students may be able to utilize. Findings showed that Latine students expressed an appreciation to be able to work with students from a similar ethnic group. Latine students enjoyed being able to chat with peers with whom they can speak Spanglish and slang to better learn and explain themselves throughout the course. Additionally, students expressed appreciation for strong instructor facilitation of activities and having multiple avenues to learn the material.

Collectively, these three studies show that SCI benefits students beyond purely affecting their academic grades. In SCI courses, students have increased peer support and gained stronger self-efficacy skills which can translate to STEM persistence long term. Additionally, SCI courses give students the opportunity to use skills and assets they may never have been able to show in a traditional course. Incorporating SCI teaching methods can help create inclusive learning environments that encourage STEM student success.

    Cover page: Student-Centered Instruction in Higher Education: Investigating the Behavioral, Academic, and Minoritized Student PerspectiveCreative Commons 'BY-NC-ND' version 4.0 license
    • Article
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2020)
    Teaching faculty are a potential mechanism to generate positive change in undergraduate STEM education. One such type of faculty is the Lecturer with Potential Security of Employment (L(P)SOE), a tenure-track faculty line within the University of California (UC) system. As a foundation for future studies, we sought to characterize individuals in the L(P)SOE position in terms of their background training, job expectations, and resources available for their success. Data were collected through an online survey completed by over 80% of STEM L(P)SOEs across the UC system, as well as interviews with over 20 deans and chairs in STEM departments at three UC campuses. From this work, we found that the majority of current L(P)SOEs were formally trained within their disciplines and not in an education field; however, they possessed substantial education experience, such as classroom teaching or participation in professional development opportunities. Expectations for time spent on teaching, research, and service are aligned between individuals within varying ranks of the L(P)SOE faculty and between L(P)SOEs and administrators. L(P)SOEs and administrators are also in agreement about what constitutes acceptable professional development activities. Interestingly, we identified differences that may reflect changes in the position over time, including increased start-up funds for more recently hired L(P)SOE faculty and a differing perspective on the role of discipline-based education research and scholarly activities between non-tenured and more senior L(P)SOEs. Overall, these data provide a snapshot of the L(P)SOE position that will aid in future work to identify the potential institutional impact of these individuals.
      Cover page: Characterizing the University of Californias tenure-track teaching position from the faculty and administrator perspectives.
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2020)
      Teaching faculty are a potential mechanism to generate positive change in undergraduate STEM education. One such type of faculty is the Lecturer with Potential Security of Employment (L(P)SOE), a tenure-track faculty line within the University of California (UC) system. As a foundation for future studies, we sought to characterize individuals in the L(P)SOE position in terms of their background training, job expectations, and resources available for their success. Data were collected through an online survey completed by over 80% of STEM L(P)SOEs across the UC system, as well as interviews with over 20 deans and chairs in STEM departments at three UC campuses. From this work, we found that the majority of current L(P)SOEs were formally trained within their disciplines and not in an education field; however, they possessed substantial education experience, such as classroom teaching or participation in professional development opportunities. Expectations for time spent on teaching, research, and service are aligned between individuals within varying ranks of the L(P)SOE faculty and between L(P)SOEs and administrators. L(P)SOEs and administrators are also in agreement about what constitutes acceptable professional development activities. Interestingly, we identified differences that may reflect changes in the position over time, including increased start-up funds for more recently hired L(P)SOE faculty and a differing perspective on the role of discipline-based education research and scholarly activities between non-tenured and more senior L(P)SOEs. Overall, these data provide a snapshot of the L(P)SOE position that will aid in future work to identify the potential institutional impact of these individuals.
        Cover page: Characterizing the University of California's tenure-track teaching position from the faculty and administrator perspectives.Creative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2021)
        The Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS) provides descriptive feedback to instructors by capturing student and instructor behaviors occurring in the classroom. Due to the increasing prevalence of COPUS data collection, it is important to recognize how researchers determine whether groups of courses or instructors have unique classroom characteristics. One approach uses cluster analysis, highlighted by a recently developed tool, the COPUS Analyzer, that enables the characterization of COPUS data into one of seven clusters representing three groups of instructional styles (didactic, interactive, and student centered). Here, we examine a novel 250 course data set and present evidence that a predictive cluster analysis tool may not be appropriate for analyzing COPUS data. We perform a de novo cluster analysis and compare results with the COPUS Analyzer output and identify several contrasting outcomes regarding course characterizations. Additionally, we present two ensemble clustering algorithms: 1) k-means and 2) partitioning around medoids. Both ensemble algorithms categorize our classroom observation data into one of two clusters: traditional lecture or active learning. Finally, we discuss implications of these findings for education research studies that leverage COPUS data.
          Cover page: Comparison of Cluster Analysis Methodologies for Characterization of Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS) Data
          • Article
          • Peer Reviewed
          UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2023)
          Abstract: Background: Teaching-focused faculty positions have grown in popularity in higher education and provide novel opportunities to transform undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The University of California (UC) system employs a unique teaching-focused faculty position, officially called the Lecturer with Potential Security of Employment (L(P)SOE), with the working title called Professor of Teaching (PoT). The UC PoT position is a tenure-track position with teaching as the primary tenure expectation. We present findings from interviews with stakeholder faculty in STEM departments at three UC campuses to identify reasons for hiring PoT, capture accomplishments of PoT in their departments and disciplinary fields, and identify potential barriers to PoT success. Results: Overall, this study highlights stakeholder’s perspectives on the value of teaching-focused faculty in research-intensive universities. Stakeholders described the goals for hiring Professors of Teaching, which included easing the burden of teaching responsibilities of the departments and adding consistency of instruction. While the stakeholders expressed that PoT were meeting the goals for being hired, they also identified many barriers for PoT being fully integrated and successful. The stakeholders expressed concern about unclear and unfair expectations related to tenure and promotion. Conclusions: The findings point to a general undervaluing and underappreciation of teaching-focused faculty and suggest that in order for PoT to have a positive impact on STEM higher education, they need more support and inclusion from their colleagues and institutions.
            Cover page: Stakeholder perspectives on hiring teaching-focused faculty at research-intensive universities
            • Article
            • Peer Reviewed
            UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2021)
            Studies have demonstrated students' resistance to active learning, despite evidence illustrating that their learning is improved relative to students in lectures. Specifically, while active learning and group work are effective at engaging students in their learning process, studies report that students' perceptions of active learning approaches are not always positive. What remains underexplored is whether students' perceptions of active learning improve with effective instructor facilitation and whether there exists differential perceptions between racially minoritized students and represented students. Here, we estimate students' perceptions of effective instructor facilitation as the mediator in the relationship between active learning and perceptions of learning and perceived utility for class activities (task value). Then, we examine differences by racial identification. We collected classroom observation data to empirically categorize courses as active learning or lecture-based and surveyed 4,257 college students across 25 STEM classrooms at a research-intensive university. We first examined the relationship between active learning on student perceptions and found a negative relationship between active learning and perceptions of learning and task value for both racially minoritized students and represented students. Next, we assessed whether students' perceptions of instructor effectiveness in facilitating group activities mediate these negative relationships. We found that, on average, students of all races were more likely to positively perceive instructor facilitation in active learning classes relative to lectures. In turn, the positive perceptions of instructor facilitation partially suppressed the negative relationship between active learning and perceptions of learning and task value. These results demonstrate that effective instructor facilitation can influence both students' self-assessment of learning and perceived utility of the learning activities, and underscores the importance of developing pedagogical competence among college instructors.
              Cover page: Instructor facilitation mediates students' negative perceptions of active learning instruction.
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