It’s Personal: Biology Instructors Prioritize Personal Evidence over Empirical Evidence in Teaching Decisions

Andrews, Tessa C.; Lemons, Paula P.

doi:10.1187/cbe.14-05-0084

Cited by 159Innovative Teaching MethodsEvaluation of Teaching PracticesScience Education and Pedagogy

It’s Personal: Biology Instructors Prioritize Personal Evidence over Empirical Evidence in Teaching Decisions

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Andrews, Tessa C., Lemons, Paula P.·2015·CBE—Life Sciences Education

DOI 10.1187/cbe.14-05-0084PMC PMC4353082

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Abstract

Despite many calls for undergraduate biology instructors to incorporate active learning into lecture courses, few studies have focused on what it takes for instructors to make this change. We sought to investigate the process of adopting and sustaining active-learning instruction. As a framework for our research, we used the innovation-decision model, a generalized model of how individuals adopt innovations. We interviewed 17 biology instructors who were attempting to implement case study teaching and conducted qualitative text analysis on interview data. The overarching theme that emerged from our analysis was that instructors prioritized personal experience—rather than empirical evidence—in decisions regarding case study teaching. We identified personal experiences that promote case study teaching, such as anecdotal observations of student outcomes, and those that hinder case study teaching, such as insufficient teaching skills. By analyzing the differences between experienced and new case study instructors, we discovered that new case study instructors need support to deal with unsupportive colleagues and to develop the skill set needed for an active-learning classroom. We generated hypotheses that are grounded in our data about effectively supporting instructors in adopting and sustaining active-learning strategies. We also synthesized our findings with existing literature to tailor the innovation-decision model.

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Fidelity in implementation is critical, as research shows that it is often poor.
“Fidelity in implementation is critical, as research shows that it is often poor (45–47).”
From Active learning narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math (2020) · cites this paper as [46]

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CBE—Life Sciences Education It’s Personal: Biology Instructors Prioritize Personal Evidence over Empirical Evidence in Teaching Decisions
Andrews, T. C., Lemons, P. P., & Tomanek, D. (2014)
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Authors: Andrews, T. C., & Lemons, P. P.
Affiliations: University of Georgia (US)
Corresponding author: Lemons, Paula P.
ORCID: Andrews, Tessa C.
Lemons, Paula P.
Venue: CBE—Life Sciences Education
Publisher: American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)
Published: 2015-03-02
Volume: 14
Issue: 1
Pages: ar7
ISSN: 1931-7913 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1187/cbe.14-05-0084
PMC: PMC4353082
OpenAlex: W2139787198
Cited by: 159
References: 38
Citations by year: 2026: 7 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 7
FWCI: 53.36
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: hybrid
doi.org
Licence: cc-by-nc-sa
Locations: CBE—Life Sciences Education (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders: University of Georgia
Topics: Social Sciences › Education › Innovative Teaching Methods
Social Sciences › Education › Evaluation of Teaching Practices
Social Sciences › Education › Science Education and Pedagogy
Keywords: active learning, case-based teaching, instructor decision-making, personal experience, empirical evidence, instructor support, teaching skills, coworker support, undergraduate biology education
MeSH terms: Biology, Curriculum, Decision Making, Faculty, Humans, Learning, Personal Satisfaction, Teaching, Universities, Cohort Studies, Models, Educational, Problem-Based Learning

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It’s Personal: Biology Instructors Prioritize Personal Evidence over Empirical Evidence in Teaching Decisions

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