Faculty Resources

Teaching & Learning

Changing Teaching Strategies

Many STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Portland State faculty are engaging in classroom teaching strategies designed to improve student success in these courses, by improving student-learning outcomes, student engagement with STEM and developing student identity as STEM learners and practitioners. What are these strategies and why are they being used?

More than 900 years ago the first universities were founded in Western Europe and the primary mode of instruction was the lecture. This can be thought of as an instructor focused, “teach by telling” mode of instruction. Whether we look at the needs of an increasingly complex job market or what we are discovering about how to best promote deep student learning, we see the need for new, innovative modes of instruction in our classrooms. The Oregon Talent Council has identified the need for a dynamic workforce with higher levels of applied or contextual skills. “Simply stated, workers need to learn how to learn.”

There are two important facets of the changing work environment:

Human knowledge is estimated to double every 13 months; making much of what we learn today our of date in just a few years
Business is conducted in interdisciplinary teams

What is active learning?

Active learning is "anything that involves students in doing things and thinking about the things they are doing" Felder and Brent (2009) defined active learning as "anything course-related that all students in a class session are called upon to do other than simply watching, listening and taking notes" (p. 2).

$Two graphs displaying failure rates based on classroom type. Images show lower % students failing in active learning classrooms.$

Freeman, Scott, et al. "Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111.23 (2014): 8410-8415.

Types of active learning happening at PSU

Deliberative Democracy Pedagogy
Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL)
Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL)

Deliberative Democracy as an active learning strategy

The model of Deliberative Democracy (DD) pedagogy, an active learning strategy, is based on deliberative democratic models of citizen engagement in science policymaking. This integrative pedagogical approach, revises the delivery of conventional introductory science content around modules that engage students with current science policy controversies. Essential to this model is the scaffolding of individual and collaborative student experiences with peer-reviewed research, media coverage, and personal and community connections, which is built into the course structure. Through these experiences, students integrate both scientific and social and ethical content in the deliberative learning framework.

DD combines the components of Student Talk, as introduced by Tanner (2009) and Accountable Talk developed by Michaels (2008), with relevant social and civic issues. Tannerʼs summary of research into Student Talk in science classrooms cites its efficacy in improving student mastery of biology concepts and highlights faculty perception that it promotes a collaborative, rather than competitive culture in undergraduate science. This collaborative culture, with a focus on societal context and civic engagement has been critical to successful recruitment and retention of women in STEM disciplines.

Tanner, K. D.CBE – Life Sciences Education, 8, 89-94, 2009.
Michaels, S., OʼConnor, C., & Resnick, L. B. Studies of Philosophy and Education, 2008, 27, 283-297.
Weasel, L.H. & Finkel, Liza, Journal of College Science Teaching 2016, 45, 38-45.

Funded in part by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Active Learning: Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL)

Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL)uses guided inquiry – a learning cycle of exploration, concept invention and application is the basis for many of the carefully designed materials that students use to guide them to construct new knowledge. POGIL activities focus on core concepts and encourage a deep understanding of the course material while developing higher-order thinking skills. POGIL develops process skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and communication through cooperation and reflection, helping students become lifelong learners and preparing them to be more competitive in a global market.

POGIL is based on research indicating that:

teaching by telling does not work for most students
students who are part of an interactive community are more likely to be successful
knowledge is personal; students enjoy themselves more and develop greater ownership over the material when they are given an opportunity to construct their own understanding

A POGIL classroom or lab consists of any number of students working in small groups on specially designed guided inquiry materials. These materials supply students with data or information followed by leading questions designed to guide them toward formulation of their own valid conclusions—essentially a recapitulation of the scientific method. The instructor serves as facilitator, observing and periodically addressing individual and classroom-wide needs.

Funded in part by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Peer-led Team Learning

Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) is a nationally recognized model of teaching and learning that originated in a chemistry course at the City College of New York in 1991. In PLTL, students who have done well are recruited to be peer-leaders: students who facilitate small group learning as an integral part of the course. Each week, the peer- leaders meet with their group to engage in problem solving and discussion of course material. The PLTL model has been adopted in general chemistry, organic chemistry and introductory physics here at PSU, incorporating an extensive body of research demonstrating that PLTL improves student learning.