Bringing theory to practice- leadership coalition: faculty survey

1. Understanding Faculty Practice & Perspective for a Learning-Centered Campus Bringing theory to practice- leadership coalition:faculty survey Ashley Finley, PhD National Evaluator, Bringing Theory to Practice Director of Assessment for Learning, AAC&U

2. SurveyOverview • 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

3. Sample Characteristics • Sample size = 302 • Response Rate = 31% • 48.6% Female, 51.4% Male • Most respondents bet. 35-65 • 35-44 (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%) • Rank • Assistant = 27.8% • Associate = 33.0% • Full = 23.4% • Non-ten.= 15.8% • Discipline • 37.8% = Humanities • 20.8% = Prof. & App. Sciences (agric., archit., health science, law, library science) • 19.4% = Social Sciences • 13.5% = Natural Sciences • 5.6% = Formal Sciences (comp sc., logic, math) • 2.8% = Other • Avg years at instit. approx. 7-10 yrs

4. In what ways are faculty innovating?: Frequency of Innovation & Revision • Avg. 87.7% of faculty make some revision to course (syllabus, readings or assignments) at least once a year • Vs. 1.6% who “Almost never” or “Never” do this • Over 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 year • 19.1% Almost never, 37.5% have NEVER done this (56%) • Least likely to have taught learning community course • 40.1% of faculty implement experiential component at least once a semester • Virtually no diff by rank or gender

5. 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 gender • Institutional service men more likely to suggest this as limitation than women

6. How do faculty view the culture of teaching & learning?: At Their Institution

7. …among faculty research interests? …within their disciplines? …at their institution? To what degree is the scholarship of teaching & learning valued…

8. Overall, undergraduate teaching efforts are valued for…

9. 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%)

10. What is the meaning of a learning-centered culture for Faculty Outcomes? • What is the relationship between institutional factors & perceptions of institutional culture and job satisfaction? • Commitment? • Position • Institution • Profession • Mental health? • Stress factors • The absence of mental illness is NOT the presence of mental health – Are faculty flourishing? • Positive emotion + Positive functioning (psychologically & socially)

11. Job Satisfaction & Commitment

12. Faculty 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. 18/36 • Diffs by rank between Asst. & Assoc. vs. Full • No sig. difference by gender • Mental Health – “Flourishing” • Avg Score = 47.2/70 • 10% Languishing • Significantly more @ Assoc. Rank • 31% Moderate Mental Health • 59% Flourishing

13. 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 satisfaction • Greater commitment to one’s position & institution • Consideration of teaching for promotion = • Higher overall job satisfaction • Greater commitment to one’s position, institution & profession • Higher flourishing score • Greater total # of teaching incentives offered by instit. = • Higher overall job satisfaction • Greater commitment to one’s position & institution • Higher flourishing score

14. + = p<.05, ++ = p<.01, +++ = p<.001

15. Stipends Annual Teaching Award + = p<.05, ++ = p<.01, +++ = p<.001

16. 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

17. “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