Student Perspectives of Faculty Classroom Practices

Shanna R. Daly; Cynthia Finelli; Ameen Basim Al-Khafaji; Martha Jane Neubauer

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Conference: 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Publication Date: June 10, 2012
Start Date: June 10, 2012
End Date: June 13, 2012
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Research Informing Teaching Practice I
Tagged Division: Educational Research and Methods
Page Count: 16
Page Numbers: 25.1190.1 - 25.1190.16
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--21947
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/21947
Download Count: 496

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Paper Authors

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Shanna R. Daly University of Michigan orcid.org/0000-0002-4698-2973

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Shanna R. Daly is an Assistant Research Scientist at the University of Michigan in engineering education, earning her doctorate from Purdue University’s Engineering Education program in 2008. Her research focuses on the investigation and application of complex professional skills, specifically design ideation, innovation practices, and creative processes within engineering, outside of engineering, and cross-disciplinarily. Her research includes an emphasis on the translation of research to practice in the form of pedagogy, curriculum development, and faculty support and programming in implementing evidence-based best practices in teaching and learning.

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Cynthia Finelli University of Michigan orcid.org/0000-0001-9148-1492

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Dr. Cynthia Finelli, Ph.D., is Director of the Center for Research and Learning in Engineering and research associate professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. In addition, she actively pursues research in engineering education and assists other faculty in their scholarly projects. She is past Chair of the Educational Research and Methods Division of ASEE.

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Ameen Basim Al-Khafaji College of Engineering at the University of Michigan

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Ameen Al-Khafaji is a junior in the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. He majors in electrical engineering. He contributed to this project through the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP).

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Martha Jane Neubauer College of Engineering at the University of Michigan

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Martha Neubauer is a sophomore in the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. She majors in chemical engineering, and she contributed to this project through UROP.

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Abstract

Student Perspectives of Faculty Classroom PracticesA number of reports have indicated the need to improve the quality of science,technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education to support a diverse studentbody and prepare engineers to be competitive in a global work force (NAE, 2004; NAS etal, 2007; NSB, 2004). Research such as the pivotal work of Seymour and Hewitt (1997)and Tobias (1990) has demonstrated that, in many cases, faculty teaching practices cangreatly affect the quality of STEM education. In particular, faculty teaching practices canhave a direct impact on student achievement (e.g., student involvement, engagement,knowledge construction, and cognitive development) and, as a result, on studentdecisions to persist in engineering (Angelo & Cross, 1993; Blackburn & Lawrence, 1995;Chesler, 2009). Felder (1993) summarized several teaching practices that contribute tothe departure of second tier students from engineering. These included a lack ofclassroom community, a lack of identifiable goals in a course, relegation of students toalmost complete passivity in the classroom, and failure to motivate interest in science byestablishing its relevance to the students' lives and personal interests.While research has connected classroom practices to student success, it is unclear to whatextent students are aware of the impacts of specific classroom practices n their success, ifthese are the bases for how they evaluate their instructors, and how students prioritizeaspects of classroom practices. In this paper we will present findings from our survey ofapproximately 400 undergraduate students in engineering. The survey included bothquantitative and qualitative questions focused on student perspectives of facultyclassroom practices and the value placed on specific practices in relation to their successand how they evaluate their instructors. Specifically, the survey asked students to think ofan engineering course that seemed to support their learning and one that did not and toanswer a series of questions about these courses. We also included a series of itemsaround successful teaching practices reported in the literature including establishing goodfaculty-student rapport, having clear course goals, using more interactive modes ofpedagogy, and establishing relevance of the course content) and asked students to reflectabout the ideas in the context of courses they have taken. The results include a contrast ofsurvey trends with national data and our previous research on observations of facultyclassrooms.

Citation
Format

Daly, S. R., & Finelli, C., & Al-Khafaji, A. B., & Neubauer, M. J. (2012, June), Student Perspectives of Faculty Classroom Practices Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--21947

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -                  Student Perspectives of Faculty Classroom PracticesA number of reports have indicated the need to improve the quality of science,technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education to support a diverse studentbody and prepare engineers to be competitive in a global work force (NAE, 2004; NAS etal, 2007; NSB, 2004). Research such as the pivotal work of Seymour and Hewitt (1997)and Tobias (1990) has demonstrated that, in many cases, faculty teaching practices cangreatly affect the quality of STEM education. In particular, faculty teaching practices canhave a direct impact on student achievement (e.g., student involvement, engagement,knowledge construction, and cognitive development) and, as a result, on studentdecisions to persist in engineering (Angelo &amp; Cross, 1993; Blackburn &amp; Lawrence, 1995;Chesler, 2009). Felder (1993) summarized several teaching practices that contribute tothe departure of second tier students from engineering. These included a lack ofclassroom community, a lack of identifiable goals in a course, relegation of students toalmost complete passivity in the classroom, and failure to motivate interest in science byestablishing its relevance to the students&#39; lives and personal interests.While research has connected classroom practices to student success, it is unclear to whatextent students are aware of the impacts of specific classroom practices n their success, ifthese are the bases for how they evaluate their instructors, and how students prioritizeaspects of classroom practices. In this paper we will present findings from our survey ofapproximately 400 undergraduate students in engineering. The survey included bothquantitative and qualitative questions focused on student perspectives of facultyclassroom practices and the value placed on specific practices in relation to their successand how they evaluate their instructors. Specifically, the survey asked students to think ofan engineering course that seemed to support their learning and one that did not and toanswer a series of questions about these courses. We also included a series of itemsaround successful teaching practices reported in the literature including establishing goodfaculty-student rapport, having clear course goals, using more interactive modes ofpedagogy, and establishing relevance of the course content) and asked students to reflectabout the ideas in the context of courses they have taken. The results include a contrast ofsurvey trends with national data and our previous research on observations of facultyclassrooms.
AU  - Shanna R. Daly
AU  - Cynthia Finelli
AU  - Ameen Basim Al-Khafaji
AU  - Martha Jane Neubauer
CY  - San Antonio, Texas
DA  - 2012/06/10
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Student Perspectives of Faculty Classroom Practices
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/21947
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--21947
ER  -