Research
General highlights of various research projects conducted by the members of CWSEI and CU-SEI that have resulted in publications, poster presentations, workshops, or talks.
Below are papers related to the SEI model specifically. Click on links on the right side to explore discipline-specific publications from the SEI.
SEI Process & Model
- The Science Education Initiative: An Experiment in Scaling Up Educational Improvements in a Research University
S. V. Chasteen, C. E. Wieman, K. K. Perkins and W. Code, in Transforming Institutions, Purdue University Press (2015). - Course transformation guide (New)
Many of our white papers are included in our self-published Course Transformation Guide, a guide for instructors interested in transforming a course, and their instruction, to use research-based principles and improve student learning. - Change from Within: The Science Education Initiative
Stephanie Chasteen and Katherine Perkins (CU SEI). Book Chapter, in McDaniel, M., Frey, R., Fitzpatrick, S., & Roediger, H.L. (Eds.), Integrating Cognitive Science with Innovative Teaching in STEM Disciplines. [e-reader version] (pp. 298-370) doi: 10.7936/K7KW5CX1 - A New Tool for Measuring Student Behavioral Engagement in Large University Classes
Erin Lane and Sara Harris (Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, UBC)
Journal of College Science Teaching, accepted Sept. 3, 2014, in press - Preparing students for class: How to get 80% of students reading the textbook before class
Cynthia Heiner (Physics, UBC), Amanda Banet (Zoology & Botany, UBC), & Carl Wieman
American J. Physics, Vol. 82(10), pp. 989-996 (2014) - The Teaching Practices Inventory: A New Tool for Characterizing College and University Teaching in Mathematics and Science
Carl Wieman and Sarah Gilbert (CWSEI, UBC)
CBE-Life Sciences Education, Vol 13(3), pp. 552–569 (2014) - Examinations That Support Collaborative Learning: The Students’ Perspective
Georg Rieger and Cynthia Heiner (Physics & Astronomy, UBC)
Journal of College Science Teaching, Vol. 43, No. 4, pp. 41-47 (2014) - Collaborative Testing: Evidence of Learning in a Controlled In-Class Study of Undergraduate Students
Brett Gilley and Bridgette Clarkston (CWSEI, UBC)
Journal of College Science Teaching, Vol. 43, No. 3, pp. 83-91 (2014) - The Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS): A New Instrument to Characterize University STEM Classroom Practices
Michelle Smith (U. Maine), Francis Jones, Sarah Gilbert, & Carl Wieman (CWSEI, UBC)
CBE-Life Sciences Education, Vol 12(4), pp. 618-627 (2013) - Understanding Clicker Discussions: Student Reasoning and the Impact of Instructional Cues
Jennifer Knight (MCDB, CU), Sarah Wise (EEB, CU), & Katelyn Southard (MCB, U. Az)
CBE-Life Sciences Education, Vol 12(4), pp. 645-654 (2013) - Use of research-based instructional strategies: How to avoid faculty quitting
Carl Wieman, Louis Deslauriers, and Brett Gilley (CWSEI, UBC)
Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research, Vol. 9, 023102 (2013) - Improving Student Attitudes about Learning Science and Student Scientific Reasoning Skills
Douglas Duncan (Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, CU) and Leilani Arthurs (Geological Sciences, CU)
Astronomy Education Review, Vol. 11 (1), 010102 (2012) - Exploring Undergraduates’ Perceptions of the Use of Active Learning Techniques in Science Lectures
Ashley Welsh (CWSEI, UBC)
Journal of College Science Teaching, Vol. 42, No. 2, pp. 80-87 (2012) - Transforming the Lowest-Performing Students: An Intervention That Worked
Louis Deslauriers, Sara Harris, Erin Lane, and Carl Wieman (CWSEI, UBC)
Journal of College Science Teaching, Vol. 41, No. 6, pp. 80-88 (2012) - Graduate Teaching Assistant Training That Fosters Student-Centered Instruction and Professional Development
Thomas Pentecost, Laurie Langdon, Margaret Asirvatham, Hannah Robus, and Robert Parson (Chemistry and Biochemistry, CU)
Journal of College Science Teaching, Vol. 41, No. 6, pp. 68-75 (2012) - Benefits and Drawbacks of Using Multiple Instructors to Teach Single Courses
Francis Jones and Sara Harris (Earth and Ocean Sciences, UBC)
COLLEGE TEACHING, 60: pp. 132–139, (2012) - Facilitating Faculty Conversations: Development of Consensus Learning Goals
Rachel Pepper, Stephanie Chasteen, Steven Pollock, & Katherine Perkins (Physics, CU)
2011 Physics Education Research Conference (PERC) Proceedings, Vol. 1413, pp. 291-294 (2012) - Multiple roles of assessment in upper-division physics course reforms
Steven Pollock, Rachel Pepper, Stephanie Chasteen, & Katherine Perkins (Physics, CU)
2011 PERC Proceedings, Vol. 1413, pp. 307-310 (2012) - Improved Learning in a Large Enrollment Physics Class
Louis Deslauriers, Ellen Schelew, Carl Wieman (Physics & Astronomy and CWSEI, UBC)
Science, Vol. 332, no. 6031 pp. 862-864 (May 2011) - Combining Peer Discussion with Instructor Explanation Increases Student Learning from In-Class Concept Questions
Michelle Smith, Bill Wood, Ken Krauter, and Jenny Knight (MCDB, CU)
CBE—Life Sciences Education, Vol. 10, pp. 55–63 (Spring 2011) - How Not to Lose Your Students with Concept Maps
Francoise Benay Bentley, Sarah Kennedy, and Katharine Semsar (Integrative Physiology, CU)
Journal of College Science Teaching, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 61-68 (2011) - A Thoughtful Approach to Instruction: Course transformation for the rest of us
Stephanie Chasteen, Katherine Perkins, Paul Beale, Steven Pollock, & Carl Wieman (Physics, CU)
Journal of College Science Teaching, Vol. 40, pp. 24-30 (2011) - Development and Validation of Instruments to Measure Learning of Expert-Like Thinking
Wendy Adams and Carl Wieman (CU-SEI and CWSEI)
International Journal of Science Education, published on: 27 October 2010 (iFirst) - Considering the Student Perspective: Factors that Undergraduates Perceive as Influential to their Academic Performance in Science
Ashley Welsh (CWSEI and Curriculum Studies, UBC)
Master's Thesis (October 2010) - Transforming Science Education at Large Research Universities: A Case Study in Progress
Carl Wieman, Katherine Perkins and Sarah Gilbert (CU-SEI & CWSEI)
Change, pp. 7-14 (March/April 2010) - "At the end of my course, students should be able to..:" The benefits of creating and using effective learning goals
Michelle Smith (Molecular, Cellular, & Developmental Biology, CU) and Katherine Perkins (Physics, CU)
Microbiology Australia (March 2010) - Why peer discussion improves student performance on in-class concept questions
Michelle Smith, William Wood, Wendy Adams, Carl Wieman, Jenny Knight, Nancy Guild, and Tin Tin Su (Molecular, Cellular, & Developmental Biology, CUSEI, CU)
Science, Vol. 323, no. 5910 (January 2009) - What is the Value of Course-Specific Learning Goals?
Beth Simon (Computer Science, UCSD) and Jared Taylor (Life Sciences, UBC)
Journal of College Science Teaching (November/December 2009) - Why not try a scientific approach to science education?
Carl Wieman (CU-SEI & CWSEI)
Change, pp. 9-15 (September/October 2007) - Students’ perspectives on pre-class reading assignments
Cynthia Heiner (Physics and Astronomy, UBC) and Amanda Banet (Zoology, UBC)
Foundations and Frontiers of Physics Education Research: Puget Sound (June 2012) - Transforming Science Education at a Large Research University: progress report from the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative (CWSEI) at UBC
Sarah Gilbert (CWSEI, UBC)
Plenary talk at The Western Conference on Science Education, University of Western Ontario (July 2011) - Development of a Faculty Perceptions Survey
Wendy Adams (University of Colorado) and Brett Gilley (Earth & Ocean Sciences, UBC)
American Association of Physics Teachers Summer Meeting (July 2010)