Instructor Perception of Incorporating Active Learning in College of Agriculture Classrooms

Elizabeth Karcher; Daniel Guberman; Emily Bonem; John Lumkes

doi:10.20343/teachlearninqu.10.36

Authors

Elizabeth Karcher Purdue University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1432-2727
Daniel Guberman Purdue University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2669-3197
Emily Bonem Purdue University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1919-3143
John Lumkes Purdue University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7697-1565

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.10.36

Keywords:

active learning, motivation, instructor, Faculty Learning Community

Abstract

Significant numbers of studies declare the effectiveness of “active learning” and numerous universities develop programs to support the incorporation of active learning methods, yet despite various incentives, adoption is met with resistance. This work shares the results of a study of instructor perceptions about active learning at a large research university in the United States. Instructor motivation, perceptions of competence and autonomy (related to colleagues and administrators), experience in training programs, as well as actual practices were explored with regard to active learning. Drawing on self-determination theory, this exploratory study will help universities in developing strategies for increasing the adoption of evidence-based teaching practices. Our results suggest that the work climate related to colleagues, gender, and participation in a Faculty Learning Community influenced both the implementation and motivation to implement active learning in the classroom.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Author Biographies

Elizabeth Karcher, Purdue University

Elizabeth Karcher is an associate professor and undergraduate programs coordinator in the Department of Animal Sciences at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN (USA). Her research in teaching and learning focuses on developing innovative experiential learning platforms that enhance student interest in food animal production, enhance learning, and develop intercultural competencies.

Daniel Guberman, Purdue University

Daniel Guberman (PhD), is a senior instructional developer at Purdue University’s Center for Instructional Excellence (USA). His interests include inclusive, collaborative, and critical pedagogies and faculty learning communities.

Emily Bonem, Purdue University

Emily Bonem (PhD), is an assistant director at Purdue University’s Center for Instructional Excellence (USA). Her main research interests include self-determination theory, course redesign, and assessing student learning.

John Lumkes, Purdue University

John Lumkes is a professor in the Department of Agriculture and Biological Engineering at Purdue University (USA). He also serves as the assistant dean in the Office of Academic Programming in the College of Agriculture. He is an award winning teacher and his research program is focused on automation and robots.

References

Baard, Paul P., Edward L. Deci, and Richard M. Ryan. 2004. “Intrinsic Need Satisfaction: A Motivational Basis of Performance and Well-Being in Two Work Settings.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 34, 2045–68.

Bonem, Emily M., Heather N. Fedesco, and Angelika N. Zissimopoulos. 2020. “What You Do Is Less Important Than How You Do It: The Effects of Learning Environment on Student Outcomes.” Learning Environments Research 23 (1): 27–44. https.org/10.1007/s10984-019-09289-8.

Cook-Sather, Allison, Catherine Bovill, and Peter Felten. 2014. Engaging Students as Partners in Teaching and Learning: A Guide for Faculty. Jossey Boss.

Cornejo Happel, Claudia A., and Xiaomei Song. 2020. “Facilitators and Barriers to Engagement and Effective SoTL Research Collaborations in Faculty Learning Communities.” Teaching & Learning Inquiry 8 (2): 53–72. https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.8.2.5.

Dalgarno, Nancy, Corinne Laverty, Rylan Egan, Kendall Garton, Eleftherios Soleas, Jordan Babando, and Richard van Wylick. 2020. “Participant Perceptions of the Faculty Development Educational Research Series.” Teaching & Learning Inquiry 8 (1): 221–45. https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.8.1.15.

Deci, Edward L. 1992. “The Relation of Interest to the Motivation of Behavior: A Self Determination Theory Perspective.” In The Role of Interest in Learning and Development, edited by K. Ann Renninger, Suzanne Hidi, and Andreas Krapp, 43–71. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Deci, Edward L., and Richard Ryan. 1985. “Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. Berlin: Springer Science & Business Media.

DeCharms, Richard C. 1968. Personal Causation: The Internal Affective Determinants of Behavior. New York: Academic Press.

Deslauriers, Louis, Logan S. McCarty, Kelly Miller, Kristina Callaghan, and Greg Kestin. 2019. “Measuring Actual Learning Versus Feeling of Learning in Response to Being Actively Engaged in the Classroom.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116 (39): 19251–57.

Freeman, Scott, Sarah L. Eddy, Miles McDonough, Michelle K. Smith, Nnadozie Okoroafor, Hannah Jordt, and Mary Pat Wenderoth. 2014. “Active Learning Increases Student Performance in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111 (23): 8410–14.

Gorozidis, Georgios, and Athanasios G. Papaioannou. 2014. “Teachers’ Motivation to Participate in Training and to Implement Innovations.” Teaching and Teacher Education 39: 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2013.12.001.

Grunefeld, Hetty, Frans J. Prins, Jan van Tartwijk, and Theo Wubbels. 2022. “Development of Educational Leaders’ Adaptive Expertise in a Professional Development Programme.” International Journal for Academic Development 27 (1): 58–70.

Guay, Frederic, Robert J. Vallerand, and Celine Blanchard. 2000. “On the Assessment of Situational Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: The Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS).” Motivation and Emotion 24 (3): 175–213.

Harackiewicz, Judith M., Jessi L. Smith, and Stacy J. Priniski. 2016. “Interest Matters.” Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences 3 (2): 220–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732216655542.

Hidi, Suzanne, and K. Ann Renninger. 2006. “The Four-phase Model of Interest Development.” Educational Psychologists 41 (2): 111–27. https://doi.org10.1207/ s15326985ep4102_4.

Holec, Victoria, and Richelle Marynowski. 2020. “Does It Matter Where You Teach? Insights from a Quasi-Experimental Study on Student Engagement in an Active Learning Classroom.” Teaching & Learning Inquiry 8 (2): 140–64. https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.8.2.10.

Michael, Joel. 2007. “Faculty Perceptions About Barriers to Active Learning.” College Teaching 55 (2): 42–47. https://doi.org/10.3200/CTCH.55.2.42-47.

Miller, Cynthia J., and Michael J. Metz. 2014. “A Comparison of Professional-level Faculty and Student Perception of Active Learning: Its Current Use, Effectiveness, and Barriers.” Advances in Physiology Education 38 (3): 246–52. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00014.2014.

Moore, Anne H., Shelli B. Fowler, and C. Edward Watson. 2007. “Active Learning and Technology: Designing Change for Faculty, Students, and Institutions.” EDUCAUSE Review 42 (5): 42–44.

Noben, Ine, Jan Folkert Deinum, and W. H. Adriaan Hofman. 2022. “Quality of Teaching in Higher Education: Reviewing Teaching Behaviour through Classroom Observations.” International Journal for Academic Development 27 (1): 31–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2020.1830776.

Roth, Guy, Avi Assor, Yaniv Kanat-Maymon, and Haya Kaplan. 2007. “Autonomous Motivation for Teaching: How Self-determined Teaching May Lead to Self-determined Learners.” Journal of Education Psychology 99 (4): 761–74. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.99.4.761.

Ryan, Richard M., and Edward L. Deci. 2000. “Self-determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-being.” American Psychologist 55 (1): 68–78.

Ryan, Richard M., and Edward L. Deci. 2017. Self-determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Ryan, Richard M., and Edward L. Deci. 2020. “Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation From a Self-determination Theory Perspective: Definitions, Theory, Practices, and Future Directions.” Contemporary Educational Psychology 61 (101860). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101860.

Ryan, Richard M., Edward L. Deci, Maarten Vansteenkiste, and Bart Soenens. 2021. “Building a Science of Motivated Persons: Self-determination Theory’s Empirical Approach to Human Experience and the Regulation of Behavior.” Motivation Science 7 (2): 97–110.

Thompson, Michael. 2005. Organizational Climate Perceptions and Job Element Satisfaction: A Multi-frame Application in Higher Education Settings. E-Journal of Organizational Learning and Leadership 4 (1). Retrieved October 29, 2021.

Tovar, Mariela, Rosalie Jukier, Jennie Ferris, and Kristen Cardosa. 2015. “Overcoming Pedagogical Solitude: The Transformative Power of Discipline Specific Faculty Learning Communities.” To Improve the Academy 34: 319–44.

Wieman, Carl, Katherine Perkins, and Sarah Gilbert. 2010. “Transforming Education at Large Research Universities: A Case Study in Progress.” Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning 42 (2): 6–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091380903563035.

Weimer, Maryellen. 2013. “Learner-Centered Teaching, Five Key Changes to Practice.” Jossey-Bass.

Williams, Geoffrey C., and Edward L. Deci. 1996. “Internalization of Biopsychosocial Values by Medical Students: A Test of Self-determination Theory.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 70: 767–79.