Successful Engagement of Faculty: Promoting Widespread Use of Active Learning in Mathematics

This project aims to serve the national interest by developing and studying a comprehensive faculty development program at a large enrollment community college that will work to transform how faculty approach teaching and learning in early college mathematics courses. Over the life of the project, at least 90 faculty will work in cohorts and with experienced peer mentors to integrate active learning techniques into their classes.

Participants will also consider how active learning and other equitable, student-centered practices might provide support for a broader population of students. Project research and evaluation will contribute new knowledge about effective teaching practices that support student success and will examine how aspects of the project mentoring, collaborative course redesign, and year-round engagement through summer institutes and academic-year meetings contribute to widespread, faculty-led instructional change.

Data on faculty mindset and practices will be aligned with student outcome measures in order to identify practices that might be adopted by other institutions nationwide.

The main goals of the project are to deepen community college mathematics faculty’s understanding of active learning; to support faculty using collaboration and a peer-mentoring program to create an environment encouraging risk-taking, experimentation, and resilience; and to contribute new and useful knowledge to the undergraduate mathematics education community. Valencia Community College is a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) that offers approximately 1,000 sections of early undergraduate mathematics each year.

The institution’s large size and diverse student body provides a unique opportunity to study the project’s two central research questions: (1) To what extent does a mathematics faculty development program, consisting of a summer institute, collaborative, cohort-based course redesign, and a mentoring program influence faculty growth mindset and mitigate perceived barriers to implementation of active learning at a large, two-year Hispanic Serving Institution?; and (2) What impact do faculty knowledge, experiences and attitudes about equity have on the implementation of active learning in this setting? Major data sources include multiple validated surveys, classroom observations, interviews, classroom activity logs and student academic outcomes.

Faculty adoption of active learning practices will be assessed in the context of participants’ beliefs about students’ capacity to grow as learners, taking into account past training, years of classroom experience, course modality (e.g., online or face-to-face) and potential role as a project mentor. This project is supported by the NSF HSI and IUSE:EHR programs.

The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education, broaden participation in STEM, and build capacity at HSIs. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.

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.