The Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS): a new instrument to characterize university STEM classroom practices

Instructors and the teaching practices they employ play a critical role in improving student learning in college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. Consequently, there is increasing interest in collecting information on the range and frequency of teaching practices at...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:CBE life sciences education Vol. 12; no. 4; p. 618
Main Authors: Smith, Michelle K, Jones, Francis H M, Gilbert, Sarah L, Wieman, Carl E
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States 01.12.2013
Subjects:
Engineering - education
Humans
Mathematics - education
Reproducibility of Results
Science - education
Students
Technology - education
Universities
ISSN:1931-7913, 1931-7913
Online Access:Get more information
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Summary:Instructors and the teaching practices they employ play a critical role in improving student learning in college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. Consequently, there is increasing interest in collecting information on the range and frequency of teaching practices at department-wide and institution-wide scales. To help facilitate this process, we present a new classroom observation protocol known as the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM or COPUS. This protocol allows STEM faculty, after a short 1.5-hour training period, to reliably characterize how faculty and students are spending their time in the classroom. We present the protocol, discuss how it differs from existing classroom observation protocols, and describe the process by which it was developed and validated. We also discuss how the observation data can be used to guide individual and institutional change.
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ISSN:1931-7913
1931-7913
DOI:10.1187/cbe.13-08-0154