Perceived Features Affecting STEM Teaching Faculty and Their Resulting Implications for Change

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 49
  In Roundtable Session: Faculty, Curriculum, and Teaching in STEM

Abstract

Research has pointed out that efforts to improve teaching in postsecondary education often fail to take account of the perceptions and needs of the educators on which they rely, or the specific contexts in which they are deployed. We utilize a model of affordance theory to explore STEM educators’ perceptions of their department in a large Land Grant research university in the United States, specifically focusing on efforts to improve teaching and learning. We report that despite numerous barriers such as limited funding, educators enact ‘remedy strategies’ to leverage existing affordances towards improving their teaching. We propose designers of future education improvement interventions keep in mind the interplay of such perceived contextual affordances and external support when designing intervention features.

Authors

• Adam Lenz, Oregon State University

• Jana Bouwma-Gearhart, Oregon State University