Universities must better recognize, reward, and support the efforts of researchers who are also excellent and dedicated teachers.</jats:p

Anderson, W.

Banerjee, U

Drennan, C

Elgin, Sarah C.R.

Epstein, I

Handelsman, J

Hatfull, G

Losick, R

O\u27Dowd, D

Olivera, B

Strobel, S

Walker, G

Warner, I

Science

English

Washington University St. Louis: Open Scholarship

Changing the culture of science education at research universities

Anderson, W. A.

Banerjee, U.

Drennan, C. L.

Elgin, S. C.R.

Epstein, I. R.

Handelsman, J.

Hatfull, G. F.

Losick, R.

O\u27Dowd, D. K.

Olivera, B. M.

Strobel, S. A.

Walker, G. C.

Warner, I. M.

LSU Scholarly Repository (Louisiana State Univ.)

Louisiana State University LSU Scholarly Repository Faculty Publications Department of Chemistry 1-14-2011 Changing the culture of science education at research universities W. A. Anderson Howard University U. Banerjee University of California, Los Angeles C. L. Drennan Massachusetts Institute of Technology S. C.R. Elgin Washington University in St. Louis I. R. Epstein Brandeis University See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.lsu.edu/chemistry_pubs Recommended Citation Anderson, W., Banerjee, U., Drennan, C., Elgin, S., Epstein, I., Handelsman, J., Hatfull, G., Losick, R., O'Dowd, D., Olivera, B., Strobel, S., Walker, G., & Warner, I. (2011). Changing the culture of science education at research universities. Science, 331 (6014), 152-153. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1198280 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Chemistry at LSU Scholarly Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of LSU Scholarly Repository. For more information, please contact ir@lsu.edu. Authors W. A. Anderson, U. Banerjee, C. L. Drennan, S. C.R. Elgin, I. R. Epstein, J. Handelsman, G. F. Hatfull, R. Losick, D. K. O'Dowd, B. M. Olivera, S. A. Strobel, G. C. Walker, and I. M. Warner This article is available at LSU Scholarly Repository: https://repository.lsu.edu/chemistry_pubs/2564 Washington University in St. Louis Washington University Open Scholarship Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations Biology 1-2011 Changing the culture of science education at research universities W. Anderson U Banerjee C Drennan Sarah C.R. Elgin Washington University in St. Louis, selgin@wustl.edu I Epstein See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/bio_facpubs  Part of the Biology Commons Recommended Citation Anderson, W.; Banerjee, U; Drennan, C; Elgin, Sarah C.R.; Epstein, I; Handelsman, J; Hatfull, G; Losick, R; O'Dowd, D; Olivera, B; Strobel, S; Walker, G; and Warner, I, "Changing the culture of science education at research universities" (2011). Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations. 189. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/bio_facpubs/189 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Biology at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact digital@wumail.wustl.edu. Authors W. Anderson, U Banerjee, C Drennan, Sarah C.R. Elgin, I Epstein, J Handelsman, G Hatfull, R Losick, D O'Dowd, B Olivera, S Strobel, G Walker, and I Warner This article is available at Washington University Open Scholarship: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/bio_facpubs/189 14 JANUARY 2011    VOL 331    SCIENCE    www.sciencemag.org 152EDUCATIONFORUMChanging the Culture of Science Education at Research UniversitiesSCIENCE EDUCATIONW. A. Anderson ,1 U. Banerjee ,2 C. L. Drennan, 3 S. C. R. Elgin ,4 I. R. Epstein 5, J. Handelsman ,6 G. F. Hatfull, 7 R. Losick ,8 * D. K. O’Dowd ,9 * B. M. Olivera, 10 S. A. Strobel ,6 G. C. Walker ,3 I. M. Warner 11 Universities must better recognize, reward, and support the efforts of researchers who are also excellent and dedicated teachers.CREDIT: ADAPTED BY P. HUEY/SCIENCE Professors have two primary charges: generate new knowledge and edu-cate students. The reward systems at research universities heavily weight efforts of many professors toward research at the expense of teaching, particularly in disci-plines supported extensively by extramural funding ( 1). Although education and lifelong learning skills are of utmost importance in our rapidly changing, technologically depen-dent world ( 2), teaching responsibilities in many STEM (science, technology, engineer-ing, and math) disciplines have long had the derogatory label “teaching load” ( 3,  4). Some institutions even award professors “teach-ing release” as an acknowledgment of their research accomplishments and success at rais-ing outside research funds.Some studies suggest little or no correla-tion between effective teaching, judged by stu-dent evaluations, and research, as measured by productivity and citations ( 5). But we con-tend that excellence in research and teaching need not be mutually exclusive but are instead intertwined and can interact synergistically to increase the effectiveness of both. The distinc-tion between research and teaching is some-what artifi cial; professors teach students how to learn from known sources in the classroom, but also how to create new knowledge in their research laboratories.We are Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) professors, biomedical research sci-entists who receive support from HHMI for creating new programs that more effectively engage students in learning science. We rep-resent a diversity of institutions, from well-endowed private universities to large and underfunded state universities. In our opinion, science education should not only provide broad content knowledge but also develop analytical thinking skills, offer understand-ing of the scientifi c research process, inspire curiosity, and be accessible to a diverse range of students. We should be preparing students for a lifetime of learning about science with an understanding of its power and limitations. Evidence shows that approaches that accom-plish these goals include active, engaging techniques; inquiry-based approaches; and research courses ( 6).All of us have experienced the challenges of balancing teaching and research. Our abil-ity to invest time and effort into improving undergraduate science education has been facilitated by extramural support and outside recognition provided by HHMI. How do we now help transform our research universities so that the teaching of science and scientifi c research are seen more broadly as equally valuable and mutually reinforcing?Departmental and university cultures often do not adequately value, support, and reward effective pedagogy. Outstanding contributions to research are evaluated by standard measures (e.g., publications and grant support); are recognized globally as well as locally; and are rewarded within the university (e.g., with promotions or salary increases). Teaching, in contrast, is rarely judged and appreciated from the outside and often only minimally from within ( 7,  8). To establish an academic culture that encour-ages science faculty to be equally commit-ted to their teaching and research missions, universities must more broadly and effec-tively recognize, reward, and support the efforts of researchers who are also excellent and dedicated teachers.Toward this end, we advocate seven ini-tiatives (refl ecting our views and not neces-sarily those of HHMI). Although many of these ideas are not new, the context in higher education has changed because of wide-spread concern about educating enough sci-entists and scientifi cally literate citizens ( 9) and because resources that enable change have improved markedly in recent years ( 10– 12).1. Educate faculty about research on learning. No scientist would engage in research without exploring previous work in the fi eld, yet few university educators read education research. Universities can demon-strate that they value teaching by treating it as a scholarly activity, such as through fac-ulty training in teaching that is predicated on evidence-based ( 10,  13) approaches. Training should address education theory, tested prac-tices, and methods to assess learning. Teach-ers should have time to experiment with new methods, identify strategies that they can implement effectively in specifi c settings, and take advantage of resources that enable trans-lation of learning principles to teaching prac-tice. These practices must include strategies to engage students in introductory courses, argu-ably the highest-impact change that could be made ( 10,  13– 15).2. Create awards and named professor-ships that provide research support for out-standing teachers. Many universities recog-nize outstanding teachers with a special title or a modest monetary award. Campus-wide recognition should also include unrestricted funds, as is typical for named professorships, which make it feasible to sustain research activities while continuing to contribute to teaching excellence. Incorporating talks by these individuals into distinguished science lecture series is an opportunity to introduce innovative pedagogy. This may also attract a new donor population interested in spon-soring named professorships for faculty who have demonstrated excellence in the training of future scientists. In addition to campus-wide recognition, annual department-level awards for excellence in teaching could pro-vide funds, allocated by the dean, to support *To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: losick@mcb.harvard.edu or dkodowd@uci.edu1Howard University, Washington, DC 20059, USA. 2University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. 3Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. 4Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA. 5Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02453, USA.  6Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. 7University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.  8Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138,USA.  9University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. 10University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. 11Lousiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.Published by AAASon February 26, 2020 http://science.sciencemag.org/Downloaded from www.sciencemag.org    SCIENCE    VOL 331    14 JANUARY 2011 153EDUCATIONFORUMthe scholarly activities of the recipient. This would not only help more faculty who have devoted signifi cant effort to teaching main-tain their research programs but also dem-onstrate to their colleagues that the effort required to achieve teaching excellence is valued. Named lecture series could bring professors from other universities who are distinguished as both research scientists and teachers to deliver a campus-wide lecture on pedagogy and a discipline-specifi c lecture on their research.3. Require excellence in teaching for pro-motion. Formal criteria for tenure and pro-motion typically indicate that teaching and scholarship carry equal weight. The reality, however, is that most research-oriented uni-versities promote faculty primarily on the basis of research achievements and ability to raise money from sources outside the uni-versity. Promotion that requires excellence in teaching would go a long way toward improving education. We need to reach agreement on broad goals of college science education and establish a rubric for evaluat-ing the extent to which teachers are meeting these goals. We must identify the full range of teaching skills and strategies that might be used, describe best practices in the evalu-ation of teaching effectiveness ( 16,  17) (par-ticularly approaches that encourage rather than stifl e diversity), and defi ne how these might be used and prioritized during the pro-motion process.4. Create teaching discussion groups. Teaching is often conducted out of sight of departmental colleagues. Even in large intro-ductory classes that are taught by teams of instructors, members of the team are often absent from each other’s presentations. To address this, both junior and senior fac-ulty members should be brought together in small, peer teaching groups. Group mem-bers would attend each other’s lectures and provide confi dential critiques that highlight the most effective or innovative teaching strategies used and identify steps to increase effectiveness. Such peer support demon-strates that the department values, and shares responsibility for, good teaching. Group members are exposed to a variety of teach-ing strategies, some of which may positively affect their own practices. Annual meetings of the faculty at large, hosted by the dean, should routinely include discussion of inno-vative teaching strategies.5. Create cross-disciplinary programs in college-level learning. Researchers are often left to fend for themselves in attempting to learn and implement best teaching practices and in evaluating how well students learn. Yet many research universities have unex-ploited resources that could be drawn upon to improve college-level learning. For exam-ple, many universities have Departments or Schools of Education, but only a few of those [e.g., ( 18,  19)] include in their mis-sion undergraduate-level learning or robust connections to, and collaborations with, fac-ulty members in STEM departments. Such collaborations could spawn innovative pro-grams for experimentation and evaluation of teaching practices in the sciences. Psychol-ogy Departments often have experts in cog-nitive science who would be valuable par-ticipants in such programs. Though exten-sive discussion of best teaching practices is beyond the scope of this piece, we refer read-ers, e.g., to ( 10,  13,  20– 23), as well as the Supporting Online Material.6. Provide ongoing support for effective science teaching. The National Academies Summer Institute has helped faculty from almost 100 research universities implement principles of scientific teaching ( 24). Uni-versity-based teaching centers provide pro-fessional support to faculty for assessment across disciplines, as well as training teach-ing assistants. Some STEM programs explic-itly include in their mission the support and improvement of STEM education [e.g., ( 25,  26)]. There is no better way to teach science than to engage students in doing science ( 27– 29). To provide such opportunities for large numbers of students demands ingenuity, a willingness to seek out and support mentors, and provision of lab and fi eld facilities. Proj-ects that can draw on student peer-mentoring deserve special attention as benefi ting both mentor and mentee.7. Engage chairs, deans, and presidents. The critical ingredient in creating a culture that values and promotes both teaching and science is leadership. Chairs of STEM depart-ments, deans of schools, and presidents of uni-versities must elevate the status of the teacher-scientist, communicate the importance they attach to effective teaching, and create and support programs that promote innovation in science education [e.g., ( 30)].The issues we raise go beyond the sci-ences. Increasingly, it seems that parents, funders of higher education, and others are questioning the value of the education that research universities provide. The continued vitality of research universities requires that we foster a culture in which teaching and research are no longer seen as being in com-petition, but as mutually benefi cial activities that support two equally important enter-prises: generation of new knowledge and education of our students. References and Notes 1. V. Savkar, J. Lokere, Time to Decide: The Ambivalence of the World of Science Toward Education (Nature Education, Cambridge, MA, 2010); http://bit.ly/blWaPr. 2. J. B. Labov, A. H. Reid, K. R. Yamamoto, CBE Life Sci. Educ. 9, 10 (2010).   3. A. L. Johnson, J. Chem. Educ. 8, 115 (1931).  4. L. V. Koos, The Adjustment of Teaching Load in a University (Government Printing Offi ce, Washington, DC, 1919); www.archive.org/details/adjustmentofteac00koosuoft. 5. H. W. Marsh, J. Hattie, J. Higher Educ. 73, 603 (2002).  6. R. A. Duschl, H. A. Schweingruber, A. W. Shouse, Eds., Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K–8 (National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2007). 7. R. Wilson, Chron. High. Educ. 57(3), A1 (2010); http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Teaching-Is-Not-Priority/124301/. 8. M. C. Taylor, Chron. High. Educ. 56(42), A22 (2010); http://chronicle.com/article/An-Academy-to-Support/123779/. 9. Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy of the 21st Century et al., Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future (National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2007). 10. J. Handelsman, S. Miller, C. Pfund, Scientifi c Teaching (Freeman, New York, 2007). 11. Education Resources Information Center, www.eric.ed.gov/. 12. Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning Online, www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm. 13. W. B. Wood, Annu. Rev. Cell Dev. Biol. 25, 93 (2009).   14. J. Fairweather, Linking Evidence and Promising Practices in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Undergraduate Education: A Status Report for The National Academies National Research Council Board of Science Education (BOSE) (BOSE, Washington, DC, 2010); www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/Fairweather_Commissioned-Paper.pdf. 15. N. Lasry, E. Mazur, J. Watkins, Am. J. Phys. 76, 1066 (2008).  16. R. B. Barr, J. Tagg, Change 27, 13 (1995); http://ilte.ius.edu/pdf/BarrTagg.pdf.  17. M. W. Klymkowsky, K. Garvin-Doxas, M. Zeilik, Cell Biol. Educ. 2, 155 (2003).   18. University of Maryland Physics Education Research Group, www.physics.umd.edu/perg/. 19. Physics Education Research at Colorado University—Boulder, www.colorado.edu/physics/EducationIssues/. 20. D. Bok, Our Underachieving Colleges: A Candid Look at How Much Students Learn and Why They Should Be Learn-ing More (Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ, 2005). 21. R. R. Hake, Latin Am. J. Phys. Edu. 1, 24 (2007). 22. M. A. McDaniel, A. A. Callender, in Learning and Memory: A Comprehensive Reference, J. Byrne et al., Eds. (Elsevier, Oxford, 2008). 23. H. Pashler et al., Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning (NCER 2007-2004, National Center for Education Research, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC, 2007). 24. C. Pfund et al., Science 324, 470 (2009).  25. STEM at North Carolina State University, http://stem.ncsu.edu/. 26. College of Engineering, https://engineering.purdue.edu/Engr/Academics/Schools. 27. R. Taraban, R. L. Blanton, Eds., Creating Effective Under-graduate Research Programs in Science (Teachers College Press, New York, 2008). 28. E. Seymour, A.-B. Hunter, S. L. Laursen, T. DeAntoni, Sci. Educ. 88, 493 (2004).  29. D. Lopatto, Cell Biol. Educ. 3, 270 (2004).  30. C. Wieman, K. Perkins, S. Gilbert, Change (March-April 2010).Supporting Online Material   www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/331/I6014/152/DC110.1126/science.1198280Published by AAASon February 26, 2020 http://science.sciencemag.org/Downloaded from Changing the Culture of Science Education at Research UniversitiesO'Dowd, B. M. Olivera, S. A. Strobel, G. C. Walker and I. M. WarnerW. A. Anderson, U. Banerjee, C. L. Drennan, S. C. R. Elgin, I. R. Epstein, J. Handelsman, G. F. Hatfull, R. Losick, D. K.DOI: 10.1126/science.1198280 (6014), 152-153.331Science ARTICLE TOOLS http://science.sciencemag.org/content/331/6014/152MATERIALSSUPPLEMENTARY http://science.sciencemag.org/content/suppl/2011/01/13/331.6014.152.DC1CONTENTRELATED http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/331/6019/858.1.fullhttp://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/331/6020/1010.3.fullhttp://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/331/6017/532.1.fullREFERENCEShttp://science.sciencemag.org/content/331/6014/152#BIBLThis article cites 13 articles, 1 of which you can access for freePERMISSIONS http://www.sciencemag.org/help/reprints-and-permissionsTerms of ServiceUse of this article is subject to the  is a registered trademark of AAAS.ScienceScience, 1200 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005. The title (print ISSN 0036-8075; online ISSN 1095-9203) is published by the American Association for the Advancement ofScience Copyright © 2011, American Association for the Advancement of Scienceon February 26, 2020 http://science.sciencemag.org/Downloaded from 

W. A. Anderson

U. Banerjee

C. L. Drennan

S. C. R. Elgin

I. R. Epstein

J. Handelsman

G. F. Hatfull

R. Losick

D. K. O'Dowd

B. M. Olivera

S. A. Strobel

G. C. Walker

I. M. Warner

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Changing the Culture of Science Education at Research Universities

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Changing the culture of science education at research universities

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