PEDAGOGY FOR PEDAGOGY: USING A WIKI TO PROMOTE THE ADOPTION, DEVELOPMENT, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CHALLENGE BASED INSTRUCTION IN STEM EDUCATION

摘要

Finding an effective new pedagogy with a proven record of advances in student efficacy and efficiency while challenging may be easier than establishing widespread adoption of such methods in academia. Challenge Based Instruction (CBI) is an inductive problem based teaching method that carefully encourages student exploration along optimal learning paths. Students are attracted to the learning objectives defined by the instructor using creative and carefully designed challenges presented to the students prior to the delivery of course content. This significant shift in classroom delivery, although proven to be effective, can be a difficult adjustment for faculty who have been neither a student nor teacher in a CBI course. As a part of a three year collaborative Department of Education grant to support the adoption of CBI in STEM fields, a Wiki was developed as a repository and resource of CBI course content using a method of backwards design and the Legacy cycle. Development of the Wiki was supported by over 100 STEM faculty from two institutions who participated in over 20 hours of workshops and workdays. The Wiki is comprised of participating faculty briefs on the development and implementation of a single CBI lecture for a STEM course. Over the course of the three year grant as new groups of 20 cycled through the workshops, the Wiki briefs served as a powerful resource for new faculty and as a useful platform for ongoing development and interaction. The site has recently been adopted for use with a Department of Defense grant to further promote CBI among faculty at four additional institutions. The methods used to develop and promote the site, the significant materials and templates developed, and the challenges faced and successes experienced in widespread adoption of a new pedagogy are presented along with conclusions on the usefulness of a Wiki for faculty development.