Rethinking the Way We Learn

A colorful collage of students studying, educational materials, and trippy shapes.

As the world around us changes, our institutions need to adapt as well. Tufts’ own Institute for Research on Learning and Instruction (IRLI) acts as a research incubator, supporting professors who are seeking to understand patterns in education, how students approach learning, and effective teaching methodology. IRLI then works with the Tufts administration and faculty to implement changes to curricula and teaching approaches accordingly. Such an institute is one of the first of its kind—hence why the acronym is pronounced “early!” BY MARIE KAZIBWE ’24

Prior to his arrival at Tufts, Professor David Hammer, the co-director of the Institute for Research on Learning and Instruction (IRLI), was a professor of physics and conducted research within the Department of Education. He described his position as a “weird” one, studying education as a STEM professor, but he felt that this duality should be more common. He believes that studying education made him a better physics professor, and that the enrichment he received by studying both fields would be advantageous to fellow faculty. Therein lies the inspiration for the creation of a research institute focused on the study of learning.

After joining the Tufts faculty, Professor Hammer proposed his idea to the Tufts administration and they enthusiastically approved. After gaining funding from a generous donor, IRLI was launched in December of 2018. IRLI’s mission is to introduce research on learning and instruction within STEM departments at Tufts. Though as of now it is only focusing on STEM fields, IRLI is hoping to expand its scope to include the humanities, social sciences, and even the graduate and professional schools in the future.

IRLI acknowledges that advancements in technology and the ever-evolving needs of society have made the role of a university subject to transformation—and that’s a great thing! Higher education needs to adapt, and by conducting research on learning at Tufts, IRLI allows for strategic implementation of necessary changes to curricula within specific courses and departments, as well as within institutional pedagogy as a whole.

“A lot of work falls under studies on how students approach learning,” Hammer tells me. “Are students just trying to complete tasks, or are they genuinely trying to learn?” Much of the work being conducted at IRLI begins at the IRLI Start meetings: a research incubator for faculty who are interested in getting involved with research on learning and instruction at Tufts. At these meetings, collaborating faculty meet and identify educational phenomena that they wish to explore. From there, they propose research questions and project proposals, which are eligible for funding from IRLI for even greater support and exploration. Project titles have spanned from “How Students Frame What They’re Doing in Labs” to “Engineering Tools for Education Research” to “Increasing Engagement and Access in STEM: Development of Virtual Laboratories that Elicit Engineering Epistemic Practices.” The work done at IRLI was typically showcased at symposia and interactive panel discussions, but with new restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, events have largely shifted to online platforms.

The work being done at IRLI impacts all professors at Tufts, not just those directly connected to the institute. The work of IRLI is carried into faculty meetings, classrooms, research labs, and between professors dedicated to refining their pedagogy.

Students conduct research in a multitude of colorful applications.

Even educators and activists from outside Tufts are able to bring their knowledge and experience to Tufts through IRLI programs. The IRLI Colloquia allow outside researchers to hold talks and Q&As, provide hands-on workshops, and run seminars and events ranging from “Reimagining Educational Problems: The Transformative Potential of Critical Cultural Research for Equity in Engineering Education” to “Learning Through Thinking Made Visible: The Role of Feedback and Interactions in Hybrid Learning Environments.” As a repository for knowledge, IRLI’s commitment to improving pedagogical practices across the STEM fields is unmatched through its dedication to expanding professors’ ideas of how to run a classroom with partnerships and programs like these.

IRLI also partners and works closely with the Center for STEM Diversity (CSD). The CSD works with both the School of Engineering and the School of Arts and Sciences to foster a diverse and inclusive science and engineering learning environment. According to then program director and current Associate Dean of Student Diversity and Inclusion Dr. Ellise LaMotte, their goals are to “develop best practices for recruiting and retaining underrepresented undergraduate and graduate students and foster a diverse and inclusive STEM community.”

The missions for both IRLI and the CSD complement each other incredibly well. Thinking about the ways implicit bias is reflected in STEM classrooms and other academic spaces is one important way that Tufts professors support inclusivity in their pedagogy and learning environments. Currently, two members of the CSD participate in the IRLI Start program, where they discuss their work on STEM-related educational research projects. “The IRLI Start meetings have become a learning community,” LaMotte says. Participating in the meetings has enabled the CSD to “obtain input and feedback on our projects, as well as provide input and feedback to others on their projects.”

IRLI acknowledges that antiracism is central to refining and reforming traditional education models in order to increase equity. That was the impetus for the creation of a graduate course called How to Be an Antiracist STEM Educator co-taught by Dr. LaMotte and Professor Julia Goueva. Offered through the Department of Education and sponsored by both the CSD and IRLI, this course was designed with graduate students in mind to help prepare them for current and future teaching assignments. This class served as a dedicated space for understanding and applying Ibram X. Kendi’s seminal How to Be an Antiracist to the STEM classroom. Truly the course was “a powerful experience for all,” LaMotte says.

IRLI is one of the first of its kind. Directed by educators who are dedicated to supporting the expansion of pedagogical practices within STEM fields, IRLI is a great example of the steps Tufts takes to keep its educators, and thus its students, at the forefront of what a twenty-first century college classroom can be. We’re incredibly proud of the work they’ve accomplished thus far and can’t wait to learn about their future research!