Bridging the Valley of Death: A Preliminary Look at Faculty Views on Adoption of Innovations in Engineering Education

There is a nationwide need to better translate engi n er ng education research into the classroom setting. Moving engineering education research int o practice is a more complicated task than it might initially seem. There are many significant b arriers to hinder the transition from research to implementation. These barriers can be categorized into two groups: (1) individual barriers, such as personality characteristics that contribute to a lack of willingness to implement innovations, as well as a lack of knowledge about engineering educa tion research; and (2) environmental perceptions, such as perceptions of the tenure and promotion process that suggest a lack of support for innovations. The project discussed in this paper investigates th characteristics of faculty members who successfully adopt engineering education innovation s and studies the impact of their working environment on their decision to adopt. Additional ly, the project investigates characteristics of faculty members who do not adopt engineering educat ion innovations and whether that decision was affected by perceptions of their working enviro nment. This paper describes preliminary results of a data collection effort identifying current barriers faculty members have in the adoption of innovations in engineering education. This paper presents data from two perspectives, that of self a nd colleagues. These perspectives are part of a larger 360° approach for data collection that also includes the perspectives of students, experts in education innovation such as the director of a center for teaching and l earning, administrators, and published documents. This 360° approach provid es a foundation for bridging the gap, often referred to as the ‘valley of death,’ between engin eering education research and the common practice of engineering education.