References and the research base
General
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2025). Transforming Undergraduate STEM Education: Supporting Equitable and Effective Teaching. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/28268
Facilitating discussions
Establishing classroom norms
Alzen, J. L., Buell, J. Y., Edwards, K., Griesemer, C. D., Zhang, Y., Passmore, C., Penuel, W. R., & Reiser, B. J. (2025). Developing Science Classroom Expectations That Encourage Risk-Taking for Learning Science Together. Science Education, 109(6), 1716-1732. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21990
Center for Teaching Innovation, Cornell University (n.d.) Establishing Community Agreements and Classroom Norms
Learning assistants
Barrasso, A. P., & Spilios, K. E. (2021). A scoping review of literature assessing the impact of the learning assistant model. International Journal of STEM Education, 8(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-020-00267-8
Clements, T. P., Friedman, K. L., Johnson, H. J., Meier, C. J., Watkins, J., Brockman, A. J., & Brame, C. J. (2022). "It made me feel like a bigger part of the STEM community": Incorporation of Learning Assistants Enhances Students' Sense of Belonging in a Large Introductory Biology Course. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 21(2), ar26. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.21-09-0287
Strategies
Cooper, K. M., Schinske, J. N., & Tanner, K. D. (2021). Reconsidering the Share of a Think–Pair–Share: Emerging Limitations, Alternatives, and Opportunities for Research. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 20(1), fe1. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.20-08-0200
Guthrie, M. W., Wu, X., & Scanlon, E. M. (2025). Supporting Effective and Inclusive Group Work in Introductory Physics Courses: A Guide for Instructors. The Physics Teacher, 63(8), 629-634. https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0175809
Simkins, S., & Maier, M. (Eds.). (2009). Just in Time Teaching: Across the Disciplines, and Across the Academy (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003445517.
Smith, M. K., Wood, W. B., Krauter, K., & Knight, J. K. (2011). Combining Peer Discussion with Instructor Explanation Increases Student Learning from In-Class Concept Questions. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 10(1), 55-63. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.10-08-0101
Scientist spotlight assignments
Ovid, D., Rose Acosta-Parra, A., Alemayehu, A., Francisco Gomez, J., Tran, D., & Tripp, B. (2024). "All of us are capable, and all of us can be scientists." The impact of Scientist Spotlight assignments with undergraduates in physiology courses. Advances in Physiology Education, 48(4), 770-783. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00116.2024
Schinske, J. N., Perkins, H., Snyder, A., & Wyer, M. (2016). Scientist Spotlight Homework Assignments Shift Students' Stereotypes of Scientists and Enhance Science Identity in a Diverse Introductory Science Class. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 15(3), ar47. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-01-0002
Syllabus research
Bernardi, F., Brown, C., Davis, L., Ephraim, M., Moody, R., & Trubko, R. (2024). Cultivating inclusivity in introductory undergraduate STEM course syllabi. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), 784.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03276-y
Eslami, M., Denaro, K., Collins, P., Sumarsono, J. M., Dennin, M., & Sato, B. (2024). How syllabi relate to outcomes in higher education: A study of syllabi learner-centeredness and grade inequities in STEM. PLOS ONE, 19(4), e0301331.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0301331
Harnish, R. J., & Bridges, K. R. (2011). Effect of syllabus tone: students' perceptions of instructor and course. Social Psychology of Education, 14(3), 319-330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-011-9152-4
Palmer, M. S., Bach, D. J., & Streifer, A. C. (2014). Measuring the Promise: A Learning-Focused Syllabus Rubric. To Improve the Academy, 33(1), 14-36. https://doi.org/10.1002/tia2.20004
Palmer, M. S., Wheeler, L. B., & Aneece, I. (2016). Does the Document Matter? The Evolving Role of Syllabi in Higher Education. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 48(4), 36-47. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2016.1198186