Passing the baton: Mentoring for adoption of active‐learning pedagogies by research‐active junior faculty

There are barriers to adoption of research‐based teaching methods. Professional development workshops may inform faculty of these methods, but effective adoption often does not follow. In addition, newly‐minted research‐active faculty are often overwhelmed by the many new responsibilities (grant wri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biochemistry and molecular biology education 2015-09, Vol.43 (5), p.345-357
Main Authors: Grimes, Catherine Leimkuhler, White, Harold B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Action Research
active learning
apprenticeship
Apprenticeships
Beginning Teachers
Biochemistry
Case Studies
Coaching (Performance)
College Faculty
College Science
co‐teaching
Faculty
faculty mentoring
Humans
Learning
Mentoring programs
Mentors
Modeling (Psychology)
Molecular Biology
Pedagogy
Problem Based Learning
Problem-Based Learning - methods
Research - education
Science Instruction
Teacher Responsibility
Teaching - methods
undergraduate
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Summary:There are barriers to adoption of research‐based teaching methods. Professional development workshops may inform faculty of these methods, but effective adoption often does not follow. In addition, newly‐minted research‐active faculty are often overwhelmed by the many new responsibilities (grant writing, group management, laboratory setup, teaching) that accompany the position and normally do not have the time to consider novel teaching approaches. This case study documents how over a three‐year period, the responsibility for teaching a nontraditional “Introduction to Biochemistry” course in a problem‐based learning format was successfully transferred from a senior faculty member nearing retirement (HBW) to a newly‐hired research‐active assistant professor (CLG). We describe our apprenticeship project involving modeling, scaffolding, fading, and coaching. We suggest that involving faculty in active‐learning pedagogy early in their career with mentoring by senior faculty overcomes barriers to adopting these methods. This case describes a specific example from which potentially useful elements can be adopted and adapted wherever biochemistry is taught. © 2015 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 43(5):345–357, 2015.
ISSN:1470-8175
1539-3429
DOI:10.1002/bmb.20885