A Model Workshop for Helping New Faculty Engage Students in the STEM Classroom

Clifton B. Farnsworth; Donna Harp Ziegenfuss; Matthew W. Roberts

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Conference: 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Publication Date: June 24, 2017
Start Date: June 24, 2017
End Date: June 28, 2017
Conference Session: Tips and Tricks for Actively Engaging Students
Tagged Division: New Engineering Educators
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 22
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--27484
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/27484
Download Count: 828

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Paper Authors

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Clifton B. Farnsworth Brigham Young University

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Clifton Farnsworth received B.S. and M.S. degrees in civil engineering from Brigham Young University and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Utah. He worked as a geotechnical engineer for eight years with the Utah Department of Transportation, spent three years as an Assistant Professor of civil engineering at The University of Texas at Tyler, and has a current appointment as an Assistant Professor of construction and facilities management at Brigham Young University.

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Donna Harp Ziegenfuss University of Utah orcid.org/0000-0002-9981-5757

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Donna Harp Ziegenfuss, is an Associate Librarian in Graduate and Undergraduate Services in the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah. She has an Ed.D. in Academic Leadership/Higher Education and an MS degree in Applied Technology/Instructional Design. She has over 10 years of experience teaching, designing instruction, and doing qualitative research both in and outside of a library context. Her research interests focus on library and technology-based instructional planning and course design, assessment and evaluation topics, as well as online teaching and learning.

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Matthew W. Roberts Southern Utah University

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Dr. Roberts has been teaching structural engineering topics for 15 years. He recently joined the faculty in the Engineering & Technology Department at Southern Utah University.

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Abstract

In May 2016 a workshop entitled “Engaging Students in the STEM Classroom” was presented to faculty at Southern Utah University. Although not exclusive to new faculty, the target audience and predominant attendees, were new faculty from the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines on campus. The three-day workshop focused on basic principles of effective learning and teaching, aligning learning outcomes to assessments and teaching activities, methods for active learning, and strategies for effective classroom presentation. The workshop curriculum was centered around the following goals: 1) promoting broader awareness of alternative teaching strategies for STEM classrooms, 2) increasing faculty comfort level in using alternative teaching strategies, 3) increasing adoption of active learning and other evidence-based pedagogies, 4) building a campus community dedicated to improving teaching, and 5) increasing multi-disciplinary collaborations amongst faculty attendees. The purpose of this paper is to provide an example of a model workshop designed to help new faculty engage students in STEM disciplines, and includes the planning, implementation, and assessment of this workshop. The paper begins by introducing the development of the workshop, including the logic model and assessment plan, the curriculum outline, and preparation processes. The paper also explores the implementation lessons learned. Finally, this paper includes the assessment results of the effectiveness of the workshop in meeting the workshop goals. This includes a pre- and post-workshop comparison of the participant’s attitudes regarding evidence based pedagogies and their perceived competency in using them. This paper is useful for engineering educators in developing teaching expertise, researchers interested in faculty attitudes and perceived competency in using alternate teaching strategies, and faculty and administrators planning to create professional development opportunities to help faculty of all levels become more proficient in evidence-based pedagogies. This paper also serves as an example of a model workshop to develop interdisciplinary communities of educational practice, as well as strengthen the abilities of a new faculty in establishing an engaging and effective classroom.

Citation
Format

Farnsworth, C. B., & Ziegenfuss, D. H., & Roberts, M. W. (2017, June), A Model Workshop for Helping New Faculty Engage Students in the STEM Classroom Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--27484

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - In May 2016 a workshop entitled “Engaging Students in the STEM Classroom” was presented to faculty at Southern Utah University. Although not exclusive to new faculty, the target audience and predominant attendees, were new faculty from the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines on campus. The three-day workshop focused on basic principles of effective learning and teaching, aligning learning outcomes to assessments and teaching activities, methods for active learning, and strategies for effective classroom presentation. The workshop curriculum was centered around the following goals: 1) promoting broader awareness of alternative teaching strategies for STEM classrooms, 2) increasing faculty comfort level in using alternative teaching strategies, 3) increasing adoption of active learning and other evidence-based pedagogies, 4) building a campus community dedicated to improving teaching, and 5) increasing multi-disciplinary collaborations amongst faculty attendees. The purpose of this paper is to provide an example of a model workshop designed to help new faculty engage students in STEM disciplines, and includes the planning, implementation, and assessment of this workshop. The paper begins by introducing the development of the workshop, including the logic model and assessment plan, the curriculum outline, and preparation processes. The paper also explores the implementation lessons learned. Finally, this paper includes the assessment results of the effectiveness of the workshop in meeting the workshop goals. This includes a pre- and post-workshop comparison of the participant’s attitudes regarding evidence based pedagogies and their perceived competency in using them. This paper is useful for engineering educators in developing teaching expertise, researchers interested in faculty attitudes and perceived competency in using alternate teaching strategies, and faculty and administrators planning to create professional development opportunities to help faculty of all levels become more proficient in evidence-based pedagogies. This paper also serves as an example of a model workshop to develop interdisciplinary communities of educational practice, as well as strengthen the abilities of a new faculty in establishing an engaging and effective classroom.
AU  - Clifton B. Farnsworth
AU  - Donna Harp Ziegenfuss
AU  - Matthew W. Roberts
CY  - Columbus, Ohio
DA  - 2017/06/24
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - A Model Workshop for Helping New Faculty Engage Students in the STEM Classroom
UR  - https://strategy.asee.org/27484
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--27484
ER  -