Board 230: Contextualized Scaffolding for Engineering Faculty to Facilitate the Adoption of EBIPs

The benefits of Evidence-Based Instructional Practices (EBIPs) are well-supported in the existing literature and have been demonstrated to play an impactful role in improving student learning and retention rates. Despite these benefits, a majority of engineering faculty have not transitioned to the use of EBIPs in their undergraduate classrooms. There are several overarching factors which prevent instructors from embracing non-traditional styles of teaching (i.e., time, preparation, student resistance, etc.) which have been explored at a holistic level. This project includes three primary efforts. The first is understanding the contextual barriers which stand in the way of successful EBIP-implementation. We identified instructors who were knowledgeable of EBIPs but faced challenges in implementation through a screening survey. Approximately 70 instructor survey respondents have shared their personal experience and perceptions around nontraditional modes of teaching over a series of three semi-structured interviews. Specifically, participants were prompted to reflect on contextual barriers and affordances that impact their decision-making processes around active student engagement in the classroom. The second effort consists of a mentoring component in which participating faculty are continuously engaged in the innovation and development processes tied to EBIP-implementation in the classroom. This collaborative development has created a supportive space in which faculty are encouraged to test new EBIPs in their courses and reflect on the challenges and successes they encounter. In response to participant feedback, members of the research team provide appropriate scaffolding for instructors in the form of active-learning exercises or hands-on demonstrations which circumnavigate local barriers faced by engineering faculty. The third effort is to evaluate the efficacy of the mentoring program. Qualitative data is collected through field notes and video recordings of the conversations, which are transcribed to discern emerging themes uncovered by various coding methods. Specific insights and results from our efforts are shared in this paper.