Paul Baepler

It's not about seat time: Blending, flipping, and efficiency in active learning classrooms

This study examines the effect of reducing the seat time of a large lecture chemistry class by two-thirds and conducting it in an active learning classroom rather than a traditional amphitheater. To account for the reduced lecture, didactic content was recorded and posted online for viewing outside of the classroom. A second experimental section, also in a blended and flipped format, was examined the following semester as a replication. To measure student subject-matter learning, we used a standardized multiple-choice exam, and to measure student perceptions of the classroom, we used a validated survey instrument. Our findings demonstrated that in an active learning classroom, student faculty contact could be reduced by two-thirds and students achieved learning outcomes that were at least as good, and in one comparison significantly better than, those in a traditional classroom. Concurrently, student perceptions of the learning environment were improved. This suggests that pedagogically speaking, active learning classrooms, though they seat fewer students per square foot, are actually a more efficient use of physical space.

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Paradox: Results Without Rewards

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) arose, in part, out of a need to rebalance the triadic mission of large academic institutions that have traditionally emphasized research over teaching and service. But how do you encourage SoTL when the faculty reward structure is weighted toward traditional research? Therein lies the SoTL paradox. The authors describe a program developed at the University of Minnesota to engage faculty in SoTL projects by relying on the nonmonetary rewards of scholarship, trust, and cross-disciplinary community.

White Slaves, African Masters

This article introduces narratives by American captives during and after the Barbary Wars (1801-1805, 1815). Set against a background of American imperial pursuits, the accounts reveal the hypocrisy and double-standards common among early Americans (who accepted black slavery in America but reacted strongly against the idea of white slaves in the custody of the North African Muslims). The accounts were largely works of fiction, but were accepted as fact. Arabs are presented as bizarre, gruesome, and primitive. The stories were sold by the thousands, so members of almost every household were exposed to these negative portrayals.