Use of research-based instructional strategies: How to avoid faculty quitting

Abstract

We have examined the teaching practices of faculty members who adopted research-based instructional strategies (RBIS) as part of the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative (CWSEI) at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Of the 70 that adopted such strategies with the support of the CWSEI program, only one subsequently stopped using these strategies. This is a tiny fraction of the 33% stopping rate for physics faculty in general [Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 8, 020104 (2012)PRSTCR1554-9178]. Nearly all of these UBC faculty members who had an opportunity to subsequently use RBIS in other courses (without CWSEI support) did so. We offer speculations for the difference in quitting rates. The direct support of the faculty member by a trained science education specialist in the discipline during the initial implementation of the new strategies is a particularly notable factor.