Introduction to Teaching-as-Research
The improvement of teaching and learning is a dynamic and ongoing process, just as is research in any STEM discipline. At the core of improving teaching and learning is the need to accurately determine what students have learned as a result of teaching practices. This is a research problem, to which STEM instructors can effectively apply their research skills and ways of knowing. In so doing, instructors themselves become the agents for change in teaching and learning.
Teaching-as-Research involves the deliberate, systematic, and reflective use of research methods to develop and implement teaching practices that advance the learning experiences and outcomes of students and teachers.
- CIRTL Core Idea – Teaching-as-Research
- Introduction to Teaching-as-Research (5 min YouTube video)
- What is Teaching-as-Research? (10 min YouTube video)
- CIRTL @ TAMU Program (4 min YouTube video)
- How TAR impacted my Career, CIRTL Alumni Panel (75 min YouTube video)
Workbook for Planning a Teaching-as-Research Project
This workbook compiles materials and exercises from the CIRTL course Planning your Teaching-as-Research Project in a format that allows participants to work through the material individually. It is intended as a tool for CIRTL leaders and staff to use when working individually with their local CIRTL participants on the process of planning a TAR project, using a stepwise process of planning a project and receiving feedback along the way. It is *not* intended for future faculty to work through on their own without guidance and feedback from CIRTL leaders and staff.
Teaching-as-Research Presentations (2021)
Benefits of Doing TAR – Student Experiences (5 min)
Shawn Schwartz, UCLA | Portia Mira, UCLA | Rachel Hutchinson, UW–Madison | Undraa Maamuujav, UC Irvine | Mi Sun An, TAMU | Deanna Rumble, UAB | Ilissa Chasnick, MSU | Vikas Menghwani, UBC | Andrew Van Alst, MSU
Promoting career skill development and student perceptions of course value in an introductory biology lab to improve student learning
Andrew Van Alst, Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University (5 min)
Impact of Modality and Camera Usage on Student Performance in a Microbiology Classroom
Janani Hariharan, Soil and Crop Sciences, Cornell University (7 min)
The Affordances of Infographics for Undergraduate Students’ Writing Development
Undraa Maamuujav, School of Education, University of California, Irvine (9 min)
Identifying Essential Factors in Producing Effective and Engaging Instructional Videos
Riley Petillion, Chemistry, University of British Columbia, Okanagan (10 min)
Students value drawing to learn biochemistry
Josie Mitchell, Integrated Program in Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin – Madison (8.5 min)