International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Volume 2, Number 1, January 2008
Return to current issues pageResearch Article
Abstract
Overcoming Student Resistance to a Teaching Innovation
This mixed-methods study investigated student perceptions of an innovative educational tool and the instructor strategies that helped change initial student resistance into acceptance and engagement. The educational tool in this study is Calibrated Peer Review (CPR)™, a web-based program that uses writing as a learning and assessment tool. Evaluations of CPR were analyzed from students in a general chemistry course over seven semesters involving 1515 students. Analysis revealed reasons for students’ like or dislike of CPR and how the instructor modified implementation to provide students a more positive experience. Analysis of student perceptions suggests that successful implementation of new tools requires attention to potential sources of student resistance at the outset as well as active listening and response to student concerns.
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Wendy Keeney-Kennicutt
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas, USA
kennicutt@mail.chem.tamu.edu
I am currently the Associate Director of First Year Chemistry and master administrator of Calibrated Peer Review (CPR) for Texas A&M University (TAMU). My B.Sc. (1972) and M.Sc. (1974) are in Chemistry from Queen's University, Canada, and my Ph.D. is in Oceanography (1982) from TAMU. I joined the TAMU chemistry faculty in 1984 and teach general chemistry. I have received numerous teaching awards and recent recognition for my Quality Enhancement Plan on international vs. domestic TAs in freshman chemistry laboratories. Additional research involves student attitudes toward homework: CPR, traditional paper, and on-line. Another interest is community outreach projects; I have organized the award winning American Chemical Society Chemistry Open House and Science Exploration Gallery at TAMU for 8 years.
Adalet Baris Gunersel
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas, USA
bgunersel@tamu.edu
I am currently a Ph.D. candidate in Educational Psychology and a Research Assistant at the Center for Teaching Excellence at Texas A&M University. I have been working on the NSF-funded project Writing for Assessment and Learning in the Natural and Mathematical Sciences. My teaching and research interests include the educational development, instructional theory, technological teaching tools, and socio-cultural and psychosocial factors that impact education. These topics, along with my interest in cross-cultural issues and my specialization in educational psychology, “Intelligence, Creativity, and Giftedness,” led me to my dissertation research investigating how various social, cultural, and psychosocial factors, including education, socio-political events, and gender, impacted the lives of highly creative and successful novelists in Turkey.
Nancy Simpson
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas, USA
n-simpson@tamu.edu
My academic background includes an undergraduate degree in Mathematics from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and graduate degrees (M.S., Mathematics and Ph.D., Curriculum and Instruction) from Texas A&M University. I have over fifteen years of experience in teaching college mathematics and have worked in the field of faculty development since 1991. I am currently the Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Texas A&M University. In addition to extensive experience in working with faculty to improve teaching, I have worked with national faculty development initiatives including the Wakonse Foundation's Conference on College Teaching. I have authored several journal articles and book chapters and am currently the PI on an NSF-funded project, Writing for Assessment and Learning in the Natural and Mathematical Sciences.