Faculty Adoption of Active Learning Strategies via Paired Teaching: Conclusions From Two Science Departments

Active learning strategies have been shown to be effective for teaching science, but it is often challenging for new faculty to adopt these strategies. 'Paired teaching ' is a way to accomplish this: An instructor new to strategies for active learning and an instructor experienced in them teach a semester-long course together, with the goal of professional development for the new instructor. We present case studies of paired teaching in two departments (Physics & Astronomy, and Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences) at a large North American research-intensive university, which provided professional development experiences for 14 faculty members new to active learning. We interviewed faculty before and after paired teaching; we then coded these interviews for faculty perceptions of paired teaching and what and how they learned from the experience. Drawing from these data, we find that paired teaching can be effective in supporting a range of new faculty from two different disciplines to adopt active learning strategies. We offer recommendations to universities interested in establishing a paired teaching program and to faculty members preparing to pair-teach.
Instructional methods incorporating active learning strategies such as group problem-solving and peer instruction have been consistently shown to improve student learning in science (Freeman et al., 2014). However, faculty adoption [...]