The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, we identify the need for a multi-theoretical research model that allows us to describe the potential for organizational change at the start of an educational change initiative in higher education. Second, we put forth our research model. To accomplish the first purpose, we set the stage for the literature review upon which our argument is grounded by describing educational change initiatives in higher education in general, the institutional context in which our particular change initiative is situated, and the theory of action that guides the intervention. Next, we discuss two bodies of research literature: (a) literature that describes the nature of institutions of higher education upon which we grounded our ontological perspective of these organizations, and (b) literature on organizational change that contributed to our epistemological perspective for researching an educational change initiative. We finish the review by considering the usefulness of a model grounded on several theories. To accomplish the second purpose, we put forth the research model, connecting the elements of the model to our ontological and epistemological perspectives. Our research model is based upon several theories and attends to the multi-dimensional, multi-level organizational phenomena and factors we believe to be important. We conclude the paper by describing our model’s usefulness by detailing some of the research methods we are using that allow exploration of pertinent phenomena. Finally, we reflect on the practicality of our research model towards informing and revising an intervention’s theory of action, as well as its feasibility for other efforts to improve and study related change in postsecondary education organizations.
Jana L. Bouwma-Gearhart is an associate professor of STEM education at Oregon State University. Her research widely concerns improving education at research universities. Her earlier research explored enhancements to faculty motivation to improve undergra
Ann earned a PhD in mathematics education from Portland State University in 2014. Her dissertation examined the informal ways of reasoning about ratio, rate and proportion that adult returning students bring to an arithmetic review class and how these ways of thinking interacted with the curriculum. Other research interests include teachers’ professional noticing of learners’ mathematical thinking and organizational change. Ann works on both the implementation and research sides of the ESTEME@OSU project.
Dr. Kathleen Quardokus Fisher is a postdoctoral scholar at Oregon State University. She is currently participating in a project that supports the use of evidence-based instructional practices in undergraduate STEM courses through developing communities of practice. Her research interests focus on understanding how organizational change occurs in higher education with respect to teaching and learning in STEM courses.
Christina Smith is a graduate student in the School of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering at Oregon State University. She received her B.S. from the University of Utah in chemical engineering and is pursuing her Ph.D. also in chemical engineering with an emphasis on engineering education. Her research focuses on how the beliefs of graduate students around teaching and learning interact with and influence the environments in which they are asked to teach.
Milo Koretsky is the McDonnell Family Bridge Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and in the Department of Education at Tufts University. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from UC San Diego and his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley,
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