Collaborative Research: What Difference does Early-Career Faculty Development Make? A Research Study of Multiple Models

American Mathematical Association Of Two-Year College, Memphis TN

Investigators

Abstract

High impact instructional practices in college STEM teaching have been shown to significantly improve student outcomes including performance, student confidence and interest, and retention. Thus, helping faculty implement high-impact practices could improve STEM education. However, because faculty development programs can be time-intensive and expensive, it is important to know if such programs are effective in changing college teachers' practices. In this project, researchers will investigate the results of teaching-focused professional development on early-career mathematics faculty. The research team will collaborate with the Mathematical Association of America's Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) and the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges' Project ACCCESS (Advancing Community College Careers: Education, Scholarship, and Service). Both Project NeXT and Project ACCCESS are similarly structured, "high-touch" early-career, teaching-focuses professional development programs. The project researchers will collect data to understand how the teaching practices of faculty participating in these programs change and how those changes relate to their professional development experiences. Since these programs are supported by major professional societies, they are examples of a model that is common across many STEM disciplines. Thus, results of similar professional development programs for early career mathematics faculty may be relevant across other STEM disciplines. This mixed methods study will use valid measures of teaching practice to examine the impact of early-career teaching-focused professional development programs on teaching and leadership in STEM fields. The research design includes four sub-studies that together provide an in-depth examination of participants' development as teachers, scholars, and leaders because of their participation in early-career teaching-focused professional development programs, and to understand how these outcomes arise from program design. The study uses surveys, classroom observation, and course artifacts, triangulated with interviews and student surveys, to document changes in teaching practice. It will identify other career outcomes relevant to the new faculty role. Studies of current early-career teaching-focused professional development program cohorts will gather pre/post survey data and observations from large samples, to compare with data from individuals who applied but did not participate. A qualitative study will document program activities and explore how these activities may explain outcomes. Separately, retrospective survey measures will compare longer-term outcomes for program alumni vs. non-participating applicants. While Project NExT and Project ACCESS share many goals, differences in their models will enable the team to discern differences in the nature and depth of outcomes and to identify what early-career teaching-related professional development features are important in what ways. The Mathematical Association of America's Early Career Mentoring Network offers comparison to a third "light touch" mentoring model that supports new faculty but does not offer a specific intervention around evidence-based instructional practices. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.