BARRIERS AND OPPORTUNITIES: EMPOWERING FACULTY WITH PEDAGOGIES OF ENGAGEMENT
captured at the January 2008 AAC&U PKAL presentation
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START FROM WHERE YOU ARE— BARRIERS IN REGARD TO:
THE FACULTY
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senior faculty who, although they might want to change, have heavy teaching loads** which
leave little time for pedagogical explorations
pre-tenure faculty who feel it is a risk to try something that might fail, thus might prejudice a
tenure decision
early-career faculty without a clue about pedagogical initiatives
a culture in which faculty are judged by the quality of research rather than of the quality of
learning of their students*
the time and effort it takes to find, learn about, create/adapt new pedagogical approaches
the fear of change and the difficulty of thinking through how to change; resistance to change
change fatigue; reluctant to do something unfamiliar; past experiences with things that did not
work
faculty uninterested in students; uninterested in connecting to education colleagues
the time it takes to reorient faculty to change their perceptions about new pedagogies,
technologies, and assessment practices
the “show-me-the-data” attitude of faculty
history of faculty autonomy; getting faculty to let go of their “control” for their class
THE PROGRAM/CULTURE
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growing diversity of student population, with little experience on how to address such diversity
with diverse pedagogical approaches
no critique of student learning within departments; neither is there sharing of pedagogical
practices; departments do not embrace change
lack of cross-department/program awareness of student learning goals
student resistance to something unfamiliar**
perception of the need to “cover” all the material***
teaching only to the “top” students, no concern with science for all
flexibility in program to try new things; program too “controlled”
lack of buy-in beyond a small set of individual faculty
desired cohesiveness and continuity of program
sequence of what is learned in different courses/different levels
need to address certification by external agencies; need to prepare students for external exams
awareness of what works now for our students; lack of base-line data on effectiveness of current
programs–no need for change if current programs are good enough
no freedom to fail on our campus; nobody thinks outside the box
gate-keeping programs.
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THE POLICIES AND PRACTICES
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how tenure decisions are made— what counts;** innovative teaching not assessed, recognized
or incorporated into the reward structure
available support for faculty development; no money to support early adapters
lack of resources to support all faculty are now asked to do; lack of support for opportunities for
faculty to learn about new approaches and to adapt them
budget decisions that suggest production of students is more important than success of learners
practices for assessing impact of teaching on learning; measures of student success
capacity to manage increased enrollments at the same time as enabling pedagogical change
clarity about what our students should know and be able to do as graduates
an insular culture which does not look outward for ideas
how decisions about change are to be made: top-down? bottom-up; stick/carrot approach to
reform.
The Facilities
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spaces designed for an educational philosophy that teaching is transmitting rather than that
learning is engagement*****
no technology spaces, or spaces for clusters, classes of different sizes, lecture/lab/class lab
spaces
resources needed to incorporate more instructional technologies and pedagogies of engagement
all the obvious....
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II.
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START FROM WHERE YOU ARE: OPPORTUNITIES IN REGARD TO:
THE FACULTY
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determining how to reward faculty if they become engaged
starting with those faculty willing to try and building from there
revitalizing the careers of mid-level faculty
tapping into the creativity of faculty as researchers
identifying # of faculty interested and help them to not re-invent the wheel, developing a more
collaborative group
making this an opportunity for deep thinking in the field
making targeted hires, considering that new hires should be open to innovation****
seeing senior faculty as an untapped resource
engaging faculty in dialogue about who “owns” the courses
helping faculty take small steps, “clunking” new approaches–modules, etc.
making sure all faculty— adjunct included— have opportunity to engage in new pedagogies
establishing the right kind of load for new faculty that gives them time to put research in place
and to engage in pedagogical conversations
connecting faculty to their peers having demonstrable success with innovative pedagogies
asking the right questions at the point of hire (hiring those experienced with teaching new
pedagogies) and having an intentional plan to invest in faculty at all career stages
recognizing faculty want what it best for the student, but need to be convinced to buy-in
build meaningful collaborations across the faculty with requisite experience/expertise: education
faculty; assessment/technology gurus; etc.
using retiring faculty (and their freed-positions) strategically
capitalizing on the energy within the science faculty as a catalyst for campus-wide attention to
new pedagogies.
THE PROGRAM/CULTURE
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partnering with K-12 colleagues in order to understand our incoming students
focusing on student retention and success as a reason for change
focusing on alternative teaching styles for students with diverse learning styles as means to
answer the “why change” question
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asking faculty “who are you weeding out and why” with the teaching approaches you are using
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incorporating new course content and new pedagogies at the same time
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leveraging work done with/for accrediting associations
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spotlighting those making curricular change
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working to achieve consistency across the program as a whole
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leveraging departmental self-studies
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offering faculty an opportunity to refresh their teaching at the point of tenure
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having institution-wide opportunities for sharing best practices and for adapting them across
campus, within and across programs
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recognizing faculty making a difference for their students, engaged in pedagogies
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using external review teams to evaluate the effectiveness of pedagogies (old and new)
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giving faculty using innovative pedagogies opportunities to share with colleagues, through the
formal faculty development
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taking advantage of related efforts in professional societies, such as PEP-link sessions that are a
quick way to become familiar with emerging best practices of their peers
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using upper-level students as assistants, peer-assisted learning, new technologies
looking at the overall course of study for students, in order to leverage assessment conversations
within the right groups, to get learning goals added to course objectives, and to get courses out
from under departmental ownership
providing incentives to tackle the low lying fruit and not signaling that major change is needed
right now
encouraging faculty to be persistent in seeking external support (helping them to succeed)
finding a place to keep shared materials about pedagogical initiatives, within and beyond the
campus; make it friendly (a place to become engaged
finding room in the program for experimentation (sandboxing) and giving faculty time to
experiment before requiring a full evaluation
getting people to see the program as a whole, not a collection of unconnected courses, so that
there is a consistency of outcomes (expected and actual)
identifying innovative programs whose efforts can be yeast for broader campus efforts
building a multi-year agenda for faculty development that takes advantage of summer time,
leverages existing resources and provides a “case” for seeking further external support
taking time to make a convincing case for change of program/pedagogies, in the same way that
some campuses are making a convincing case for new facilities.
POLICIES AND PRACTICE
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seeking grants to explore on-line classes and other innovative approaches
considering mini-grants at the campus level; flexible teaching loads; team-teaching
gathering and using data about what works and why
evaluating the success of the few innovative pedagogies that are already in use
reviewing existing strategies/resources for faculty development (release time/summer stipends)
redefining classroom evaluations so there is a common understanding of expectations
achieving a more focused faculty orientation effort
providing better course evaluation that would result from pedagogies of engagement
finding opportunities for donors to invest in us
being creative in using student work $ to hire undergraduates as assistants as new
courses/pedagogies are evolving; give them training between terms, etc.
rewarding those who make the best use of their regular travel funds; spotlight what they learn
and do in campus-wide venues.
figuring out the cost-benefits of transformative pedagogies (larger class enrollments?)
making initial investments in team-teaching, mentoring that have long term benefit
building an internal case for change from external pressures to change: workforce, science
literacy for all, etc.
reduce the number of courses to be taught
recognize the scholarship of teaching
using students as agents of change and/or advocates for change
consider the role of the department chair in setting a culture in which new approaches can be
tried and are valued
thinking about how departmental autonomy helps change happen.
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FACILITIES
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finding a donor interested in innovative approaches to learning and teaching
figuring out how to build sand-boxing spaces for piloting new approaches
using the carrot of new spaces for science to get people on the same page in how they want
students to be learning in the future
taking advantage of what others have learned/are learning in considering options for renovation,
low-tech, low-cost approaches to accommodating new pedagogies and technologies
doing a self-analysis of present spaces for learning, what works, what does not, and why, and
how to make immediate and cost-effective steps that arrive at spaces for pedagogies of
engagement.
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