National educational initiatives require significant investments of effort and time from stakeholders. Although stakeholders envision an impact, it can be difficult to measure progress toward goals on a national scale. Here, we propose a novel approach to detect change and growth in teaching practices over time in light of hypotheses outlined in the 2011, 2015, and 2018 Vision and Change (V&C) in Undergraduate Biology Education reports. Using a scoping review methodology, we analyzed trends in curricular and pedagogical practices within 650 lesson plans published over a two-decade timespan. We detected changes after V&C report publication along several variables, including a four-fold increase in publication rate, increased prominence of seven out of 11 concepts and competencies, and use of student-centered teaching and assessment practices such as the inclusion of learning goals and active learning in lesson plans. These results help the life science education community understand the current state of the field and identify growth opportunities. A similar approach can be used by other disciplines to measure educational transformations associated with national reports.
Treibergs et al. (2025) studied this question.