Third-year status of a summer faculty immersion program

Abstract

This paper discusses the status of a Summer Faculty Immersion Program (SFIP) after three years of implementation in the School of Engineering at Universidad del Turabo in Gurabo, Puerto Rico. The SFIP is a five-year, externally funded, faculty development program that began in the summer of 2012 and runs until the summer of 2016. The intention of the program is to diffuse the use of innovative and effective teaching practices in a manner that will promote lasting change in the entire engineering and physics faculty of Universidad del Turabo. The program targets new as well as experienced faculty members. The SFIP takes place during the month of June and provides a stipend to participants. It is divided into an intensive one-week training workshop that is followed by a three-week immersion where each faculty member transforms two courses. An expected transformation is the selection and adaptation of real-world examples that are presented at the beginning of class to establish the need for learning the course material (inductive approach). The problems are subsequently solved using the principles and theory taught in class. The results of a faculty survey show that the inductive methodology is being used in approximately 60% of the lectures; that the faculty enjoy this teaching methodology; and that the faculty think that SFIP was effective in preparing them for teaching in this new style. The results also show that the faculty is beginning to transform other courses on their own time (44% of lectures). Diffusion of innovations in engineering education is a challenge that has defied a satisfactory solution for decades so this result is a positive sign that SFIP is promoting diffusion and creating lasting change in the faculty. On the other hand, there is concern with the time required to cover all the expected material in the syllabus. A satisfactory solution to the issue of time could be the key to achieving very high diffusion rates. It has also been recognized that while this methodology creates an engaging classroom environment and leads to better understanding of underlying concepts, there is no clear and consistent evidence of improvement in the math skills required to solve exam problems that are similar to typical textbook problems.