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Overcoming Challenges

In pursuing your scientific or engineering research you have undoubtedly encountered obstacles: an experiment or design that did not work as anticipated at first, a grant that fell through, a peer review that identified a problem in your methodology. But surmounting these obstacles can sometimes lead to greater understanding, a stronger design, and better results.

The same is true with instructional design. Many leaders in research-based instruction readily admit that some of their early attempts were not as successful as they had hoped, and many faced challenges that rattled their resolve. As in scientific research or engineering design, the best response to the inevitable stumble or obstacle is not to give up but to reflect on what you can do better, make adjustments, and persist.

“Be patient,” advises Alex Rudolph,1 a physics and astronomy professor at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. “Don’t expect everything to work the first time out. Realize that these things take time to learn and do well…. Be willing to try something and get better at it, because if you do it a few times you almost always get better.”

Just as many of your students need time, guidance, and encouragement to be successful with new ways of learning, you will need time, practice, and support to become more comfortable and competent with new ways of teaching, and even longer to become adept. Ed Prather,2 an astronomy professor at the University of Arizona, tells participants in his faculty development workshops that “while the first time out of the gate it might not be perfect, they’re making slow and steady progress toward a goal that is part of their profession.” Even instructors who have been using research-based approaches for several years continue to tweak their