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repost- Blog about "education research denialism" among STEM faculty

Entry #283: 05 Apr 2016; 11:46 am; 1 comments

Terry McGlynn, author of the blog Small Pond Science, recently posted a provocative essay about STEM faculty who deny the empirical, scientific evidence found via educational research, and likens that mindset (and the motivations that produce it) to that employed by climate change deniers, flat-earther's, and creationists. From an informal poll of Terry's, it seems like many of us work with education research deniers. Do the deniers have any valid points? Can the deniers be convinced to embrace evidence-based pedagogies, or are they likely to be as recalcitrant in the face of facts as creationists and climate-change skeptics? Check out his original post and the ensuing conversation here.

About the author

Jeremy M Wojdak

Jeremy is an aquatic community ecologist at Radford University in Virginia. He is currently investigating predator functional diversity and better models to understand how multiple predator species affect prey populations. He teaches a variety of courses including Ecology and Adaptation, Parasitology, Tropical Field Biology, and Scientific Illustration. Jeremy is a PI for the QUBES project, as well as the AIMS project that uses image analysis to engage students in mathematics and statistics, and the BIOMAAP project that hopes to reduce student's math anxiety through evidence-based interventions. He is also a PI on an HHMI-funded Inclusive Excellence project (REALISE) that is reforming instruction and curriculum in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics at Radford University, with the aim of improving outcomes for all students.

Comments on this entry

Sam S Donovan @ 3:13 pm on 07 Apr 2016

Hey Jeremy,

Thanks for posting this. Most provocative.

The list of 10 reasons for denying educational research covers a lot of different issues, many of which hit pretty close to home. What I don't see is a broader discussion about educational research. Studying humans and learning may be some of the most complicated subjects out there. Maybe it is more an issue of being confident that we have enough general knowledge about how teaching and learning work to begin applying it across multiple contexts?

Now that I look back at the list, that sounds a lot like #2 - You reject the notion that published education research findings can apply to what happens in your own environment.

-sam

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