A Review of Research on Constructivist - Based Strategies for Large Lecture Science Classes Uric

Modern theories of learning claim the construction of knowledge occurs as students build understanding in light of experiences occurring in the world. Experience can occur within the context of various pedagogic modes within a classroom setting; moreover, the development of deep conceptual understanding of content and the processes of science – as informed by constructivist models of learning – stress the active participation of students in the process of constructing knowledge. This can occur when students are engaged in learning tasks which tacitly or explicitly make them aware of this construction with deference to prior knowledge structures. Large lecture interactive engagement teaching strategies are designed to permit this sort of learning (Students are not tacitly given an opportunity to simply memorize bits of knowledge pre-arranged by a content expert, rather they are actively engaged in the construction of new knowledge.). Still, why do many science faculty members continue to exclusively lecture in large enrollment courses? Institutional constraints may make successful implementation of proven strategies difficult even when faculty acknowledge the advantages of active learning approaches. These constraints include physical considerations, such as the number of students in the class, fixed seating arrangements, and the amount of time available for instruction. They also include systematic factors, such as the relationship of the class to other courses, the identification of course objectives solely in terms of content, a general lack of teaching experience and training among content faculty, and the lack of incentives (as well as the presence of disincentives) to focusing on the improvement of one’s teaching. Beyond all this, however, we have found that a major detriment to successful implementation is a lack of familiarity with relevant science education literature, difficulties science faculty may have in interpreting the results of education research, and problems simply figuring out how to translate even practical techniques offered by other authors to their own teaching contexts.