Impact of the Engineering Coalitions on Faculty

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Impact of the Engineering Coalitions on Faculty
Jack McGourty Associate Dean Fu Foundation School
of Engineering and Applied Science Columbia
University
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Why Collect Data?

• To learn about and monitor what changes are
  occurring in faculty perception and behavior as a
  result of coalition reform initiatives
• To provide evidence of culture change - defined
  as changes in attitudes and behaviors on the part
  of faculty and administration towards educational
  reform and innovation
• To make decisions about future faculty and staff
  development, as well as institutional policies
  and practices

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Coalition Assessment Goals

• Shared Goals
• Participation in reform
• Collaborative learning
• Instructional technologies
• Interdisciplinary activities
• Design activities in lower and upper divisions
• Student learning outcomes

• Unique Goals
• Attitudes toward diversity
• Administrative support
• Tenure promotion
• Professional development
• Spreading the word
• Statements on institutionalization

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Assessment Processes

• Qualitative Interviews
• Faculty and Administration Surveys
• Course Evaluations (student faculty)
• Student Surveys
• Institutional metrics

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Common Findings

• Faculty Surveys from three Coalitions - ECSEL,
  Foundation, Gateway (N515)
• Involvement of Faculty in Coalition courses and
  related activities (Reported range from 21 to
  36)
• Increased interest and/or use of cooperative
  learning techniques in the classroom
• Up to 65 of Coalition faculty are integrating
  new instructional technologies into their classes
• Increased inclusion of ABET-related learning
  outcomes into the curriculum, especially design,
  teamwork, and communication skills (faculty and
  student surveys)

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Common Findings

• Coalition faculty more likely than non-coalition
  faculty to
• participate in professional development
  activities focusing on pedagogy, learning theory,
  and assessment
• interact with faculty from other disciplines and
  help students integrate knowledge from two or
  more disciplines

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Lessons Learned

• Focus on faculty participation and instructional
  technologies
• Incorporating faculty input into traditional
  course evaluation systems
• Limited assessment of impact on administration
  and institutional practices
• Need to identify institutional and departmental
  metrics to help measure change over time

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Special Session - Coalition Impact

• Gloria Rogers - Rose-Hulman Institute of
  Technology (Foundation Coalition)
• Flora McMartin, Synthesis Coalition
• Jack McGourty, Columbia University (Gateway
  Coalition)
• H. Roberts Coward, SRI International