This collection is now also available on the UBC Science Youtube channel.
This collection of videos was inspired by the observation that instructors are most likely to consider trying new teaching strategies after watching a colleague or a video that demonstrates the strategy in action in a real setting. These are not documentaries or testimonials. They are demonstrations of students learning, and teaching strategies in action.
Teaching strategies “proven” to be effective using experimental or empirical methods do, of course, need to be used properly and this may take practice. Therefore, hints are provided in text that accompanies each video clip. Look for aspects of student behavior, instructing actions, logistical tips and other characteristics of these successful teaching strategies in order to gain some insight about what it takes to have these strategies work optimally. See the menu item Home -> More references for some other video collections.
The strategies shown have been implemented at the University of British Columbia and University of Colorado as part of the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative (CWSEI) and The University of Colorado Science Education Initiative (CU-SEI). Some strategies were developed during these education improvement initiatives but many were adapted from known techniques, or by incorporating what is known and documented in the literature about how people learn and post secondary science education.
Plenty of other sources of examples are out there. See for example the MERLOT ELIXR Initiative, a digital case story repository that hosts more than 70 discipline-specific multimedia stories. Also, the “Pedagogy in Action” portal for educators is a great starting point for Teaching Methods (The What, Why and How), Activities Direct from the Classroom, and Research on Learning – A Bibliography of the Print and Web literature. Or see the full range of resources at the SERC site starting at http://serc.carleton.edu/index.html.
If you know of a particularly rich source for helping instructors adopt research based instructional strategies let us know.
