creased by 0.47 SDs under active learning (n = 158 studies), and that the odds ratio for failing was 1.95 under traditional lecturing (n = 67 studies). These results indicate that average examination scores improved by about 6% in active learning sections, and that students in classes with traditional lecturing were 1.5 times more likely to fail than were students in classes with active learning. Heterogeneity analyses indicated that both results hold across the STEM disciplines, that active learning increases scores on concept inventories more than on course examinations, and that active learning appears effective across all class sizes—although the greatest effects are in small (n ≤ 50) classes. Trim and fill analyses and fail-safe n calculations suggest that the results are not due to publication bias. The results also appear robust to variation in the methodological rigor of the included studies, based on the quality of controls over student quality and instructor identity. This is the largest and most comprehensive metaanalysis of undergraduate STEM education published to date. The results raise questions about the continued use of traditional lecturing as a control in research studies, and support active learning as the preferred, empirically validated teaching practice in regular classrooms.

/pdf/active-learning-increases-student-performance-in-science-3j0c6wu4k5.pdf

Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics

This study examines the evidence for the effectiveness of active learning. It defines the common forms of active learning most relevant for engineering faculty and critically examines the core element of each method. It is found that there is broad but uneven support for the core elements of active, collaborative, cooperative and problem-based learning.

/pdf/does-active-learning-work-a-review-of-the-research-2erhef7d09.pdf

Does Active Learning Work? A Review of the Research

Students have different levels of motivation, different attitudes about teaching and learning, and different responses to specific classroom environments and instructional practices. The more thoroughly instructors understand the differences, the better chance they have of meeting the diverse learning needs of all of their students. Three categories of diversity that have been shown to have important implications for teaching and learning are differences in students' learning styles (characteristic ways of taking in and processing information), approaches to learning (surface, deep, and strategic), and intellectual development levels (attitudes about the nature of knowledge and how it should be acquired and evaluated). This article reviews models that have been developed for each of these categories, outlines their pedagogical implications, and suggests areas for further study.

Understanding Student Differences

Table 1 Correlations between institutional mean scores of NSSE clusters of effective educational practices and institutional graduation rates (N=680 4-year colleges and universities) .

https://nces.ed.gov/npec/pdf/Kuh_Team_Report.pdf

What Matters to Student Success: A Review of the Literature

(2004). First-Generation College Students. The Journal of Higher Education: Vol. 75, No. 3, pp. 249-284.

First-Generation College Students: Additional Evidence on College Experiences and Outcomes.

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is an innovative educational approach that is gaining prominence in higher education. A review of the literature of PBL outcomes summarizes, across multiple studies, the positive effects of problem-based learning. Since PBL brings with it unique challenges to traditional assessment, however, this study suggests alternative approaches. Alternative assessment may provide additional insight into the effectiveness of PBL and other alternative pedagogies. Introduction Traditional instruction, such as the typical lecture-based session that developed before textbooks were mass-produced, often involves delivering as much information as possible as quickly as possible. The lecture method was one of the most effective and efficient ways to disseminate information and has often been used for this end. Because many faculty members are poor lecturers, and because students are often poor participants in the lecture, this type of instruction has often allowed students to be passive in the classroom. Students, not knowing how to be active participants in the lecture, have relied on transcription, memorization, and repetition for learning. In recent decades, however, we have learned a great deal from cognitive science research about the nature of learning. Students construct knowledge; they do not take it in as it is disseminated, but rather they build on knowledge they have gained previously (Cross, 1998). They benefit from working together, and they may learn best from teaching each other (Annis, 1983; McKeachie, et al., 1986). Research also suggests that students learn best in the context of a compelling problem (Ewell, 1997); they learn through experience (Cross, 1999). In short, students learn through making cognitive connections, social connections, and experiential connections (Cross, 1990). Because they make these connections differently, students do not learn in the same way. This relatively new information suggests that teaching is a complex activity, and it necessitates the emergence and development of approaches to instruction that are consistent with what we know about the way that learning happens (Ewell, 1997). This new understanding has given rise to the notion of a paradigm shift in higher education, one from a focus on teaching to a focus on learning (Barr and Tagg 1995). New "powerful pedagogies" emphasizing learning, such as project-based learning, inquiry-based learning, case-based learning, research-based learning, situation-based learning, action learning, and Problem-Based Learning (PBL) intimate that alternative pedagogies may be gaining in prominence and may ultimately become the dominant classroom paradigm. PBL is an educational approach in which complex problems serve as the context and the stimulus for learning. In PBL classes, students work in teams to solve one or more complex and compelling "real world" problems. They develop skills in collecting, evaluating, and synthesizing resources as they first define and then propose a solution to a multi-faceted problem. In most PBL classes, students also summarize and present their solutions in a culminating experience. The instructor in a PBL class facilitates the learning process by monitoring the progress of the learners and asking questions to move students forward in the problem-solving process. Unlike traditional classrooms, the faculty member is not the sole resource for content or process information, but instead guides students as they search out appropriate resources. The PBL approach had its start in the 1960s at McMaster Medical School as faculty developed PBL out of the perceived need to produce graduates who were prepared to deal with the information explosion, and who could think critically and solve complex problems. This institution developed its entire curriculum around problem-based learning. Soon after medical schools around the world began to adopt the McMaster model. …

Assessing the Effectiveness of Problem-Based Learning in Higher Education: Lessons from the Literature

Do Diversity Experiences Influence the Development of Critical Thinking

In response to the demand for enhanced design, problem-solving, and team skills in engineering graduates, Penn State has instituted a number of team-based, project-learning courses, including one taken by nearly every first-year engineering student. To determine the impact of these experiences on our students we have begun a cross-sectional and longitudinal study of their intellectual development based upon the Perry model. In this paper, we describe the research methodology and results for the initial group of first-year students interviewed. The results of the study include the effects on intellectual development of the first-year design course, gender, honors status, and the students’ academic ability as indicated by SAT scores and grade point average. Design experience was positively related to enhanced intellectual development. Honors status, gender, and academic ability were not significantly related to Perry rating. We discuss the implications of these findings for instruction and curricular reform.

The Effects of a First-Year Engineering Design Course on Student Intellectual Development as Measured by the Perry Scheme

A qualitative study of faculty members participating in a campus-wide problem-based learning initiative examined the process of transforming faculty pedagogical content knowledge. Researchers found that faculty existing knowledge and the institutional intervention influenced new knowledge of faculty roles, student roles, disciplinary structures, and pedagogy. Communicating new knowledge solidified the transformation.

http://depts.washington.edu/comgrnd/ccli/papers/Major_Palmer_ReshapingTeachingLearningTransformationOfFacultyPedagogicalContentKnowledge-jy.pdf

Reshaping Teaching and Learning: The Transformation of Faculty Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional method where student learning occurs in the context of solving an authentic problem. PBL was initially developed out of an instructional need to help medical school students learn their basic sciences knowledge in a way that would be more lasting while helping to develop clinical skills simultaneously. Although PBL addresses this specific need, it is also based in sound educational theories and paradigms. The author addresses those theoretical foundations of PBL, which, in turn, help readers to understand why PBL can be effective as well as enable them to diagnose and improve PBL applications when things are not going quite as planned.

Betsy Palmer

Papers

Assessing the Effectiveness of Problem-Based Learning in Higher Education: Lessons from the Literature

Do Diversity Experiences Influence the Development of Critical Thinking

The Effects of a First-Year Engineering Design Course on Student Intellectual Development as Measured by the Perry Scheme

Reshaping Teaching and Learning: The Transformation of Faculty Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Why Problem-Based Learning Works: Theoretical Foundations