Scientific Teaching Revisited

Estimated time to complete: 10 minutes

Module Learning Objectives

Bringing it All Together

Remember from the beginning that scientific teaching is both the teaching of science and the science of teaching. An instructor who practices scientific teaching:

• Engages students in authentic practices of science
• Approaches their teaching with the spirit of scientific research

The previous modules provided the foundations of knowledge, skills, tools, and mindsets for teaching scientifically. This module invites you to reflect on your progress and identity next steps with your course. Specifically, you'll be prompted to leave yourself detailed notes about when and how you plan to finish creating the course materials, when you plan to implement them, and how you will approach iterative revisions over time.

The goal is to continue to create a cohesive course that brings science to life and can be accessed equitably by all students. Over time, we also hope that you continue to enlist your scientific mindset to collect information to improve the course, and that your own skills and mindsets continue to evolve.

Making a Plan

Below is a summary of the main considerations for scientific teaching to support your ongoing growth and iteration of the course over time. As you review what you've learned from the STC, identify which steps you will take next. This will help you create a plan to guide you on your path to scientific teaching.

Designing the Course or Instructional Materials

As you review your course design, reflect on the below concepts and make adjustments as needed.

• Alignment: How do the activities and assessments reinforce each other and help students progress toward the learning goals?
• Facets of science: How do the learning goals and active learning experiences represent the six facets of science?
• Learning objectives: How clearly do the objectives define what students will learn and be able to do?
• Active learning: How do the learning activities leverage evidence-based practices?
• How learning works: How are the activities scaffolded to promote learning, metacognition, and regular low-stakes feedback?
• Inclusive learning: How are the learning activities and the content relevant, accessible, and equitable? How are instructor and student identities accounted for?

Ongoing Iteration

Consider how you will continue to develop yourself and your course to align with scientific teaching approaches. Think about what you want to know to guide future iterations and ongoing growth.

• Self reflection: What worked, what didn’t, and why? How do you know? What would you keep or change next time? How will you continue to grow and learn?
• Peer-informed improvements: How could a colleague provide feedback on course design, your teaching, or the student experience?
• Data-informed improvements: What artifacts or assessments provide data about the extent to which learning objectives were met?
• Student input: How could students provide feedback about their experiences with the content, experiences, and learning environment?
• Reflect on research: How could you continue learning from new evidence on teaching and learning?

Make a Checklist

Map out all the steps remaining to build out your course and note what remains to be done:

• Finish and align learning objectives, assessments, and activities
• Create detailed instructional materials to support your newly defined objectives
• Work on inclusive learning environment
• Work on overall course structure
• Establish a learner-centered syllabus / inclusive welcome materials
• Identify when and how will you practice teaching with these new tools
• Other: _____

Call to Action

Science is essential for understanding the world around us. Scientists play a critical role in discovering new knowledge and addressing issues related to the environment, public health, and so much more. A diversity of perspectives will be needed to not only find solutions to emerging problems, but also to identify which questions are important. The only way to enlist those diverse perspectives is to stop gatekeeping scientific opportunities from those who have historically been excluded from STEM and instead open the gates.

You have a powerful tool at your fingertips: your classroom. You have a responsibility for shaping the learning experience in your classroom, giving you both the opportunity and duty to help students understand the world through science and apply scientific thinking to it. By engaging in a lifelong journey of discovery through scientific teaching, you and your colleagues can inspire students to become the scientists we need.