Relationships Between Engineering Faculty Beliefs and Classroom Practices

This study examines the impact of an NSF-funded professional development program on instructors’ attitudes towards, and use of, student-centered learning practices in engineering undergraduate courses. The project launched during spring 2016 and involves promoting communities of practice within engineering disciplines and delivering a series of train-the-trainer workshops to the engineering faculty. The workshops strongly promote tenets of studentcentered learning and active engagement practices in the classroom. As part of the overall program evaluation, multiple assessments were administered throughout the workshop series. Since self-reported practices can be biased, ongoing classroom observations were also conducted to determine actual classroom practices of the instructors. For this study, we focused on the comparison of beliefs about student-centered instruction and observed practices. We provide a point-in-time analysis of the relationship between beliefs and use of active learning practices of the faculty participants in the professional development program. Beliefs were assessed with the Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI). The ATI is a survey that measures the extent of faculty teaching beliefs toward teacher-centered (TC) knowledge transmission vs. student-centered (SC) conceptual change. While the ATI measured beliefs, the degree to which classroom practices were student-centered was assessed via classroom visits by trained observers using the Reformed Teaching Observational Protocol (RTOP). The RTOP is a classroom observation protocol that was designed specifically for STEM classrooms and it allows observers to quantify the degree of student-centered teaching and learning occurring during a lesson. Results indicated no significant correlations between ATI SC scores and RTOP scores. Correspondingly, no significant relationship existed between average ATI TC scores and overall RTOP scores. However, we did observe significant shifts in attitudes towards student-centered practices through preand post-ATI scores comparison. A discussion of the implications of these findings is presented. Background & Purpose The traditional lecture format, or teacher-focused/content-oriented instruction, is the primary teaching method used in undergraduate engineering education classrooms. Active learning techniques, or student-centered instruction, involves pedagogical practices that directly engage student participation and activities in the classroom. Research has shown that student-centered teaching strategies are an effective and engaging way for students to learn subject matter. The backdrop for this research study was an NSF-funded Improving Undergraduate Science Education (IUSE) project at a large college of engineering in the southwestern United States. The IUSE project provides professional development for faculty members from multiple engineering disciplines (including, aerospace, biomedical, chemical, civil, materials, mechanical, and construction engineering). The project utilizes a “train the trainer model” to disseminate the information and to promote student-centered pedagogy in undergraduate engineering courses. A key part of the project evaluation involved determining the extent of shift in student-centered instruction practices before and after the professional development sessions. This task was accomplished through a preand post-assessment survey completed by faculty members and classroom observations. The Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI) survey instrument was utilized to measure faculty beliefs towards pedagogical techniques. However, since self-reported practices can be biased, classroom observations were also conducted, which were measured through the Reformed Teaching Observational Protocol (RTOP), to determine actual teaching practices of participants. For this study, we focused on the relationship between beliefs about student-centered instruction and observed practices. Specifically, this study provides point-in-time analysis of the relationship between beliefs and use of active learning practices in the classroom. As part of the analysis, we looked at beliefs about student-centered learning strategies and at classroom practices at two separate times (one at the beginning of the semester, or start of the professional development series, and one at the end of the semester when the professional development series was ending). The study was framed by the following research question: To what extent are faculty beliefs about student-centered strategies reflected in instruction practices in the undergraduate engineering classroom? Review of Related Research Student-Centered Teaching in Engineering Education Student-centered teaching strategies address key course concepts and skills in an engaging and adaptive manner. Many empirical studies have been conducted to better understand the effectiveness of student-centered learning in higher education. These studies have demonstrated that student-centered instruction promotes greater learning and understanding compared to traditional content-oriented strategies. This review provides a brief overview of studies that that have examined the efficacy of student-centered learning in STEM education. Prince reviewed the current literature base on active learning in engineering education. Though Prince did find some studies that did not show a benefit for student-centered instruction, the researcher ultimately concluded that instructors should consider new instruction methods, including active learning practices in their engineering classrooms, as much of the research is compelling regarding the positive results of using student-centered pedagogy in the classroom. In a meta-analysis of 225 studies, Freeman et. al evaluated instructional methods in undergraduate STEM classes to investigate the impact of active learning on students. Their analysis found that student performance on examinations or concept inventories was higher, at about 6%, with active learning instruction. The authors’ analysis also demonstrated that students were 1.5 times more likely to fail a course, if they were enrolled in a traditional lecture class, rather than a class that utilizes active learning teaching principles. Professional development Many researchers have focused on change processes in faculty development. Borrego et al. provided a discussion of different change models. They discuss the change process people undergo after learning about new techniques or processes. The authors focus on Rogers’ model of diffusion of innovation, which describes a five-stage model for people to adopt an innovation: 1. Awareness or Knowledge an individual is exposed to an innovation 2. Persuasion or Interest interest in the subject grows and individuals seek out further information about the innovation 3. Evaluation & Decision individual either adopts or rejects the innovation 4. Implementation & Trial innovation is tested by an individual 5. Confirmation or Adoption individual continues and sustains use of the innovation Borrego and colleagues utilize Rogers’ diffusion of innovation model as a basis for their discussion because this method has been employed frequently by other researchers conducting professional development for faculty members. In general, they found that faculty are likely to progress through the awareness and interest phases, but rarely move to actual practice or implementation of the innovation. These studies found that it is important for these sessions to provide support and context for implementing the innovation; further it is important to use small group activities to lead to success of the professional development programs. Small group sessions provide an option for informal and collaborative learning. Additionally, by utilizing active learning techniques, professional development programs can improve delivery of content and learning of the participants in the program. In order to be successful, professional development programs need to be flexible to meet the different and changing needs of participants in the program. Further, it is important that the innovation being discussed is successfully implemented into the program. Additionally, the sessions should foster learning via informal and focused interactions that help the practitioners better understand the material. When scaling an innovation reform, it is important that practitioners see a shift from learning about the innovation to an internal shift where they seek to utilize the particular practice. A key part of this process involves the presenters explicitly stating the benefit of the innovation in the classroom. Ongoing assessment and practices should be utilized throughout the professional development to ensure that participants can advance to this final stage. Beliefs & Teaching Practices Faculty beliefs about teaching and learning play a critical role in shaping teaching practices in the classroom (Pajares, 1992). Much of one’s beliefs about education and teaching is drawn largely from what they already know and have observed in classrooms when they were students. Thus, since the traditional lecture format has been the dominant form of teaching in engineering classrooms, faculty continue to learn teacher-oriented pedagogical strategies in the classroom. However, the relationship between instructors’ beliefs and practices is complex and not linear. There are conflicting findings in the literature about the link between beliefs about teaching and actual classroom practices. Many researchers have found that beliefs about teaching or learning strongly influence classroom practices. 21 These studies have found a positive connection or correlation between teacher beliefs and actual classroom practices. Whereas, other researchers have found that espoused beliefs and practices of faculty members are not aligned with actual teaching practices in the classroom. Further research has demonstrated that faculty bel