A Small Steps Approach to Digitally-Enabled, Evidence-Based Teaching Within a Community of Practice

Instructors looking to strengthen digital learning in STEM courses often start by asking what new tool might help. But a more reliable path begins one step earlier: naming the evidence-based teaching practices (EBTs) that already support student learning and then using digital tools to enhance those practices. The logic of digitally enabled, evidence-based teaching practices, or DE-EBTs, is to lead with pedagogy, not technology.

That approach shaped a recent community of practice facilitated by Christine Latulippe, Community Manager for Transform Learning, in partnership with Every Learner Everywhere. Over eight weeks, 10 postsecondary faculty members focused less on adopting “the next” digital learning tool or platform and more on getting specific about why particular instructional moves matter. They then explored how technology can make those moves easier to implement, more transparent to students, or more consistent at scale.

“First you need to understand these evidence-based teaching practices,” Latulippe says “I think we did a lot of good work on naming of practices and solidifying why we do them and why they’re important. Then you need to think about that layer of the technology. Putting the technology first puts it out of order, really.”

The fall 2025 community of practice, a follow up on a version from the previous summer, was designed to fit into the real constraints of the term: Participants were teaching while they were learning, and discussions emphasized small steps that could be tested immediately. That practical focus—combined with the confidence that comes from hearing peers describe what works in comparable courses and institutional settings—helped participants translate EBTs into concrete, tech-enabled improvements they can carry forward into future terms.

Incorporating DE-EBTs in STEM

The fall 2025 community of practice featured 10 math faculty who spent eight weeks in virtual discussions about how to incorporate evidence-based teaching into STEM courses and the technology that can support and enhance this instruction. The group included faculty from the following types of institutions:

• Seven from two-year or technical schools
• Two from a public, four-year school
• One from a technical, pre-apprenticeship program

Participating faculty also considered how they could incorporate digital tools in EBTs they’ve implemented but aren’t yet using technology to support. They realized, for example, that while many were sharing details from class assignment rubrics, promoting instructional transparency, they could elevate that transparency by posting those rubrics digitally for students to access as needed.

“I remember one participant having that ‘a-ha’ of, ‘It’s so obvious to me, but I’ve never shown the rubric to the students, so let me start posting those,’” Latulippe says. “That builds transparency and helps with student success.”

The community of practice’s work also will have an impact on other instructors. Participants are submitting short writeups of their experiences to the library of DE-EBT examples on Transform Learning.

Taking small steps

The fall community of practice also emphasized the message that even small changes requiring relatively little time and effort can make a big difference in connecting with students.

“People actually had classes at the time,” Latulippe says, “and they were able to think about, ‘Oh, how can I implement a small change based on the reading?’ or, ‘What’s something small that I changed in my teaching last week?’ and then they could share it with others.”

For example, instructors who are already committed to the practice of fostering a sense of belonging, explored using introduction videos. They could begin with a single video tutorial that gives students an easily accessible resource for additional help with a problem and then build from there with videos to enhance other activities, like lesson reviews or test corrections.

The opportunity to share ideas is an important benefit for those taking part in any community of practice. And the fact that the Transform Learning summer and fall communities of practice focused on DE-EBTs promises to make a difference for participants and their students for years to come. Collectively the participants in the fall 2025 group are teaching 1,200 students in the ’25–’26 academic year.

Latulippe says, “Having names for evidence-based teaching practices really supports intentionality and helps instructors know why they want to invest in particular course elements. It helps them think about what their strengths already are and what small changes they could be making.”

Transform Learning has also been presenting a series of webinars with subject matter experts presenting practical advice on each of the DE-EBTs. The next one, on February 17, 2025, is Thinking About Thinking: Using Formative Practice to Grow Metacognitive Learners. Archived recordings of the previous webinars in the series can be found on the Every Learner workshops page.

Removing barriers

Latulippe says the participants appreciated that everyone in the cohort taught math courses. “I think sometimes it can be easy to create a barrier if an idea doesn’t feel personal enough or connected enough to where we are,” she explains.

“It’s always nice to know that other people have similar students, or similar class sizes, or similar institutional settings. That helps us feel more willing to try their ideas and feel like we’re not alone.”