Beyond the Individual Instructor: Systemic Constraints in the Implementation of Research-Informed Practices Documents

Main Document

Beyond the Individual Instructor: Systemic Constraints in the Implementation of Research-Informed Practices 

written by Melissa H. Dancy and Charles R. Henderson

Anecdotal evidence suggests that findings of educational research and resulting curricula are, at best, only marginally incorporated into introductory physics courses. Based on interviews with four non-PER physics faculty we investigated why incorporation of research-based curricula is uncommon. Elsewhere, we report that these instructors have PER-compatible beliefs about teaching and learning, but largely traditional instructional practices. In this paper we explore the significant role that systemic influences play in this apparent discrepancy and present a theoretical model to describe the interplay between individual beliefs and systemic influences.

Published September 1, 2005
Last Modified May 25, 2012

This file is included in the full-text index.