Understanding Faculty Understanding Faculty Practice & Perspective for Practice & Perspective for
a Learning-Centered a Learning-Centered CampusCampus
Ashley Finley, PhDNational Evaluator, Bringing Theory to PracticeDirector of Assessment for Learning, AAC&U
SurveySurvey Overview Overview
1) To what degree and in what ways are faculty innovating (re-envisioning courses, implementing new pedagogies) on campus?
2) How do faculty view the culture of teaching and learning at their institutions & in academia?
3) What is the relevance of a learning-centered culture on faculty outcomes?
6 Major Sections: Teaching Practice &
Innovation Institutional Reward
Structures Scholarship of Teaching &
Learning Promotion & Tenure Job Satisfaction &
Commitment Mental Health and Stress
Peer reviewed & revised Web-based
Anonymous 5 institutions: 4 private,
liberal arts; 1 public university
Spring Administration
Sample CharacteristicsSample Characteristics Sample size = 302
Response Rate = 31%
48.6% Female, 51.4% Male
Most respondents bet. 35-6535-44 (27.2%), 45-
54 (25.2%), 55-65 (28.2%)
Primarily white (93.1%)
3.8% = Two or more races/some other race
Black/Afr. Amer.(1.4%), Asian (1%), Am. Ind./Alaska native (.7%)
RankAssistant = 27.8%Associate = 33.0%Full = 23.4%Non-ten.= 15.8%
Discipline37.8% = Humanities20.8% = Prof. & App.
Sciences (agric., archit., health science, law, library science)
19.4% = Social Sciences13.5% = Natural Sciences5.6% = Formal Sciences
(comp sc., logic, math)2.8% = Other
Avg years at instit. approx. 7-10 yrs
In what ways are faculty In what ways are faculty innovating?: Frequency of innovating?: Frequency of
Innovation & RevisionInnovation & Revision Avg. 87.7% of faculty make some revision to course (syllabus, readings or assignments) at least once a yearVs. 1.6% who “Almost never” or “Never” do thisOver half change syllabus or revise assignments
AT LEAST once a semester Avg. 34.2% implemented/adopted new
pedagogy (service, experiential learning, learning community once a year19.1% Almost never, 37.5% have NEVER done this
(56%)Least likely to have taught learning community
course40.1% of faculty implement experiential
component at least once a semester Virtually no diff by rank or gender
What limits innovation?What limits innovation?
Primary limitations (strongly/mostly agree)Research (71.3%)Family (68.4%)Not enough information from colleagues (66.2%)Not sure what could do to be more innovative
(84.6%)Do not wish to be more innovative (75.7%)
Differences by rank:Research (Asst. vs Full) & family (Non-ten. vs. Full)
Differences by genderInstitutional service men more likely to suggest
this as limitation than women
How do faculty view the culture of How do faculty view the culture of teaching & learning?: At Their teaching & learning?: At Their
InstitutionInstitution
…among faculty research interests?
…at their institution?
To what degree is the scholarship of teaching & learning valued…
…within their disciplines?
Overall, undergraduate teaching efforts are valued for…
Existing Institutional Incentives/Rewards VS Rewards that Influence in Teaching
Of % No/Not sure (2/5): Teaching Award (51%), Consid. for P&T (33%), Supp. for tech. enh. learning(29%), Fac. Cult. that values teaching (49%)
What is the meaning of a What is the meaning of a learning-centered culture for learning-centered culture for
Faculty Outcomes? Faculty Outcomes? What is the relationship between institutional factors & perceptions of institutional culture and job satisfaction?
Commitment?PositionInstitutionProfession
Mental health?Stress factorsThe absence of mental illness is NOT the presence
of mental health – Are faculty flourishing?○ Positive emotion + Positive functioning
(psychologically & socially)
Job Satisfaction & Commitment
Faculty Stress & FlourishingFaculty Stress & Flourishing Factors that are the greatest sources of
stress = Job security (65%)Concerns about tenure/promotion review (56%)Social stressors (49%)
Overall Stress = Avg. 18/36Diffs by rank between Asst. & Assoc. vs. FullNo sig. difference by gender
Mental Health – “Flourishing”Avg Score = 47.2/7010% Languishing○ Significantly more @ Assoc. Rank
31% Moderate Mental Health59% Flourishing
Relationship of Institutional Culture of Teaching & Learning w/ Faculty Outcomes Greater freq. with which faculty adopt new pedagogy
= higher flourishing score.Greater freq. of course revision associated with lower stress
score Consideration of teaching for tenure
Higher overall job satisfactionGreater commitment to one’s position & institution
Consideration of teaching for promotion = Higher overall job satisfactionGreater commitment to one’s position, institution &
professionHigher flourishing score
Greater total # of teaching incentives offered by instit. =Higher overall job satisfactionGreater commitment to one’s position & institutionHigher flourishing score
Mental Health
Job Satis.
Commit. To Position.
Commit. To Instit,
Commit to Prof.
Excellence in teaching is priority
+ +++
+++ +++ +++
Innovation in teaching is priority
+++
++ +++ +
Scholarly teaching is priority
++ +++
+++ +++ ++
Opps for new teaching
+++ +++
+++ +++ +++
Hear from colleagues about teaching
++ ++ + +
+ = p<.05, ++ = p<.01, +++ = p<.001
Mental Health
Job Satis.
Commit. To Position.
Commit. To Institution
Course Release +++ + ++Consideration for Tenure &Prom.
+ +++ ++Assist. w/ Tech. Enh. Learning
+ + +Help w/ curr. Dev./innov.
+ ++Faculty Culture Values Teaching
+++ + ++Certif. Exc./Recog. Mtg
+
--- --- --- ------ --- --- ---
+ = p<.05, ++ = p<.01, +++ = p<.001
Annual Teaching Award
Stipends
So what?: Messages for Institutional Change
Faculty are innovating in ways that are often overlooked & undercompensated
Culture matters = But all incentives are not built equally“Awards always sound good -- at first -- until people
start to feel overlooked, or until it's…obvious that awards are used to make the award-givers look good.” - Faculty member
FACULTY in themselves are a resource Incentives do not have to be resource intensive
“It's shocking how common sensical these approaches are, and how few of them (beyond a teaching award) are implemented here.” – Faculty member
Communication may be the best (and cheapest) resource
Transparency/clarity of practice, process, and expectations
“It's not hard - acknowledge it, support it, and reward it. Most 'teaching'-focused faculty want to do innovative things for their students but if the reward system is skewed towards research, they will either move in the research direction or stop innovating.” – Faculty member
Top Related