Introducing DART: Decibel Analysis for Research in Teaching
Kimberly Tanner from San Francisco State University presents: "What Does Teaching Sound Like? Introducing DART – Decibel Analysis for Research in Teaching – A New Tool for Systematically Analyzing Teaching Practices across Instructors and Institutions"
How is STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) teaching in higher education changing or not changing? What proportion of STEM instructors in higher education regularly use teaching strategies beyond lecture? What is the probability that an undergraduate STEM student would have the opportunity to speak, write, or discuss their ideas about science with peers in every class session?
In strong collaboration with STEM instructors who were eager to monitor and improve their teaching, we developed the DART – Decibel Analysis for Research in Teaching – tool, a machine learning-derived algorithm, which can analyze thousands of hours of STEM course audio recordings quickly, with minimal costs, and without need for human observers (PNAS, 2017). The DART tool could enable individual instructors, departments, institutions, and science education stakeholders worldwide to systematically and regularly inventory the presence of evidence-based, active learning with ~90% accuracy across thousands of courses in diverse settings with minimal effort. We envision DART as a tool with immediate feedback value for individual instructors, as well as a tool with which departments and institutions can regularly capture, assess, compare, and demonstrate their added educational value by showing the extent to which their instructors employ effective instructional practices for students.
An accessible and quick way to learn more can be found at the following press links:
and
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/sfsu-ssr030617.php
The Life Sciences Café seminar series. Light food and beverages will be provided.