SMATE Researchers Examine Students' Perceptions of Undergraduate STEM Instruction

What instructional strategies are used most in STEM undergraduate courses, and do these strategies benefit student learning or belonging in courses?

On August 9, 2024 at the American Psychological Association Conference in Seattle, Washington, SMATE researcher Dustin Van Orman presented a study conducted with SMATE's Josie Melton, Dan Hanley, Abbey Gray, Greta Moses, and Makayla Wilson that revealed important answers about how STEM undergraduate students perceive instruction in STEM courses. The researchers asked 763 students in 48 courses at three U.S. higher education institutions what instructional strategies were used most, which benefited their learning, and which contributed to their sense of belonging in their courses. 

Students perceived lecture, active classroom-based learning activities (e.g., problem-solving, lecture-embedded low-stakes quizzes); teacher-guided learning (e.g., demonstrations); and individual assignments as the most frequently used strategies. However, active classroom-based learning; practice, revision, feedback; small group learning; and teacher guide learning were strategies that most contributed to learning. The researchers also found that a variety of strategies, many of which are used infrequently, contributed to students' sense of belonging, such as practice, revision, feedback; instructors' positive character; classroom community building; and small group learning strategies. Results demonstrate that instructional strategies most commonly used by STEM faculty may have limited impact on learning and little to no impact on students' sense of belonging.

This research is a study within a larger project focused on embedding the use of student-centered, equitable instruction in undergraduate STEM courses. See the BETTER in STEM website to learn more about the project, student-centered and equitable teaching, and other research being done to understand how faculty change their instructional practice over time and how students experience these environments.