An Overview of the Four Core

Change Strategies for Reforming

STEM Instruction
Charles Henderson
Andrea Beach
Western Michigan University

Noah Finkelstein
University of Colorado, Boulder

www.homepages.wmich.edu/~chenders
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 Starting Point:

•We know a lot about:

• effective teaching of college-level STEM
• how to apply this knowledge in
individual classrooms
•A significant problem is:
• finding ways to scale effective practices
so that all undergraduate students
experience them

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 A Larger Literature Review:
Current Status: Preliminary Results*
• Literature Search
 ~400 relevant journal articles identified
• Preliminary Analysis
 Use 130 articles (randomly selected) to develop four
categories of change strategies
• Ongoing Analysis (target completion – Spring 2009)
 Complete analysis of remaining articles – modifying
categories and coding criteria as necessary
• Next Steps (Winter/Spring 2009)
 DELPHI (distilling knowledge from a group of experts)

*Supported by NSF DRL-0723699 3

 Categories of Change Strategies
Based on Two Dimensions
1. What does the change effort intend to directly
impact?
Individuals Environments and
Structures
The change intends to directly The change intends to directly
impact personal characteristics impact extra-individual
of single individuals, such as characteristics of the system
beliefs, knowledge, behaviors, such as rules, physical
etc. characteristics of the
environment, norms, etc.

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 Categories of Change Strategies
Based on Two Dimensions

2. To what extent is the outcome prescribed in advance?

Prescribed Final State
The desired final state for the
individual or environment is
known at the beginning of the
change process.
Emergent Final State
The desired final state for the
individual or environment is
developed as part of the change
process.

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 Four Categories of
Change Strategies
Focus on Changing
Prescribed Final Condition

Encourage/support

Emergent Final Condition

Tell/teach individuals
Individuals
individuals to develop
about new teaching
new teaching
conceptions and/or
conceptions and/or
practices.
practices.
e.g., dissemination,
e.g., reflective practice, action
focused conceptual
research, curriculum
change
Develop new development
Empower collective
environmental development of
features that environmental features
require/encourage that support new
new teaching teaching conceptions
conceptions and/or and/or practices.
practices. e.g., institutional
e.g., policy change, transformation, learning
strategic planning organizations
Focus on Changing
Environment/Structures 6
 Each Type of Strategy has
a Unique Emphasis
Focus on Changing
Prescribed Final Condition

Emergent Final Condition

Individuals
DISSEMINATING DEVELOPING
Curriculum & Reflective
Pedagogy Teachers

DEVELOPING  DEVELOPING 

Policy Shared
Vision

Focus on Changing
Environment/Structures 7
 This Session
Focus on Changing
Prescribed Final Condition

Emergent Final Condition

Individuals
DISSEMINATING DEVELOPING
Curriculum & Reflective
Pedagogy Teachers

DEVELOPING  DEVELOPING 

Policy Shared
Vision

Focus on Changing
Environment/Structures 8
 Session Plan
An Overview of the Four Core
Charles
10:00-10:10 Change Strategies for Reforming
Henderson
STEM Instruction
Disseminating Curriculum and
10:10-:10:30 Eric Mazur
Pedagogy: Peer Instruction
Andrea Beach Developing Reflective Teachers:
10:30-10:50
and Milton Cox Faculty Learning Communities
Developing Policy for Reforming
10:50-11:10 William Kelly Engineering Education: the ABET
Criteria
Jennifer Zoltners Developing Shared Vision:
11:10-11:30
Sherer Distributed Leadership
11:30-11:40 Noah Finkelstein Discussant

11:40-12:00 Panel Discussion

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 Questions to Consider
How do the programs discussed relate to the four
categories of change strategies?
• How did each manage the tension between a focus on
individuals vs. environments/structures?
• How did each manage the tension between
prescribed vs. emergent outcomes?
• In what ways are these categories useful/not useful in
understanding change?
• What aspects of change aren’t represented in these
categories?
What were some unexpected (but, with hindsight,
clear) aspects of the change process?

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