Evidenced-Based Teaching

Evidence-based teaching 

Thinking about courses as scholarly projects by using teaching practices that are grounded in evidence of their effectiveness to maximize student learning.

Blumberg (2011) defines evidence in two ways:

• Internal evidence based on the faculty's exploration of teaching practices from their own courses
• External evidence from pedagogical research

FIU's conceptualization of Evidence-Based Teaching (EBT)

Collecting & Using Internal Evidence

We often teach without knowing which aspects of our teaching are most effective and/or how to identify and improve those aspects that could use refinement. However, by collecting data on student learning and performance in our classroom, we can inform course enhancement and allow for more targeted refinements. We can also draw from existing research to identify instructional strategies that can help address specific challenges in our classroom, then collect data from students to examine the effectiveness of those strategies.

Curating and Using External Evidence

Informed by the scholarship of teaching and learning, faculty can make better decisions about their instructional design and practices. To begin the process of using external evidence for decision making in teaching, Blumberg (2011) suggests reading pedagogical literature in your own discipline or broadly across other disciplines and consulting with teaching and learning experts. At CAT, we take a consultative approach where we can help you interpret your data and identify appropriate EBT practices. We can also direct you to DBER faculty at FIU who have expert knowledge of and/or experience using research-validated strategies.

Examples of evidence-based practices and how they benefit students

State clear learning goals repeatedly: 

• Encourages students to set their own goals
• Created transparency in the classroom
• Helps students understand the rationale for course content and tasks 

Provide high-quality feedback on low stakes assignments often:

• Allows students to incorporate feedback for subsequent higher-stakes assignments (e.g., final exams, capstone papers)
• Facilitates the development of students metacognitive skills
• Can be used to provide a model for students to learn to evaluate their own work

 Provide opportunities for repeated and spaced practice:

• Repeated practice facilitates the incorporation of information from working memory to long term memory
• Spaced practice facilitates the transfer of knowledge

 Encourage and facilitate peer to peer learning:

• Well-designed group work can help students become effective collaborators
• Group work can promote a sense of belonging and community in the classroom
• Helps students develop a sense of accountability and learn how to hold others accountable

 Promote effective self-regulated learning skills:

• SRL skills are associated with higher course grades 
• Students with better SRL skills are more engaged and more likely to seek out challenging learning opportunities
• Becoming effective learners will benefit students both in and outside of your classroom