Author(s):
NSF IUSE award number: 2021532, IUSE ICT capacity-building project
Title: Capacity-Building for Change Through Faculty Communities and Data
Authors:
Amy Chan Hilton, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN
Shelly Blunt, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN
William Elliott, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN (presenter)
Topics:
Supporting Faculty
Institutional and Community Transformation
Leadership for Change: The Role of Faculty and Administrators
Abstract
Need: This NSF IUSE ICT project is designed to build capacity in supporting STEM faculty in collaborative inquiry processes to explore questions on student learning and success in introductory and gateway undergraduate STEM courses. Recognizing that simply providing faculty access to academic data or the literature will not inspire them to transform their courses, the project motivates faculty to consider evidence-based teaching strategies by including them as co-designers of learning analytics tools and storytellers inspired by the data and their reflections. The project also builds and strengthens faculty communities and networks and develops a culture of inquiry and conversations that are data-informed – all to build readiness for transformation.
Guiding Question: We are exploring how a change framework for intentional capacity building through creating faculty communities with similar interests in student learning and success across disciplines and using institutional data can establish the foundation for implementing change in their instructional practices, with faculty members becoming change agents. The project tests three assumptions, grounded in theories of change, that guide this project: 1) providing faculty with multiple ways to engage with challenges to student success and evidence-based teaching will cultivate motivation to consider change in instruction and curricular design; 2) data alone will not drive change, but rather developing connections with data and evidence will help motivate transformation; and 3) systems thinking establishes an effective framework to organize efforts to facilitate change.
Outcomes: This capacity-building project has resulted in the following outcomes so far 1) expand learning analytics tools with relevant and actionable academic data for faculty with two dashboard prototypes; 2) recruit and engage 17 STEM faculty members in learning communities and 100-130 STEM faculty and staff in mini-activities that connect academic data with individual perspectives to motivate interest in STEM education transformation; 3) build community across STEM educators through guest workshops and engagement in national STEM education conferences; and 4) refine theories of change and the framework for the design and implementation of programs to support faculty in transformation STEM education.
Broader Impacts: This project is increasing faculty engagement in issues of student learning, success, and retention in STEM introductory and gateway courses. This is expected to increase their motivation to explore and try evidence-based instructional practices in their courses to support the success and retention of their students, including first-generation, low-income, women, and other underserved populations. Moreover, using learning analytical tools is an emerging approach to motivating STEM faculty to implement evidence-based teaching practices. These tools, together with reflective stories about how faculty participants’ perspectives and understanding of student success issues have evolved, can be used to motivate change. Through formative and summative evaluation, this project also provides insights into effective strategies to engage STEM faculty in inquiry into how to support student success. While most transformation projects and frameworks have been conducted at large research institutions, the results from this project will contribute to the knowledge in STEM education change in the context of a public, regional, primarily undergraduate institution (PUI) in the Midwest.
Coauthors
Amy Chan Hilton, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN; Shelly Blunt, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN
