Increasing Faculty Use of Effective Teaching Practices

There is ample evidence that the way college faculty teach their students can significantly impact student learning. Teaching practices that actively engage students in their own learning, for instance, have been shown to improve students' understanding of engineering concepts, critical thinking ability, and persistence in the engineering field. In spite of this evidence, though, many engineering faculty continue to teach using a passive lecture style rather than using other effective teaching practices that allow students to be actively engaged in their learning.
Dr. Cindy Finelli conducts research to understand barriers and motivators to using effective teaching practices and to design faculty professional development programs that result in more widespread use of effective teaching practices. In this talk, Dr. Finelli will (1) describe data she collected at UM from faculty focus groups, classroom observations, and student surveys, (2) outline a unique faculty professional development program she designed that connects that local data with national research about effective teaching practices, and (3) present evidence about the success of the f program. She will also highlight implications for future faculty wishing to adopt effective teaching practices.