2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Faculty Use of Active Learning in Community Colleges

Presented at Two-Year College Potpourri

This paper will highlight a small subsection of a larger scale project that focuses on increasing the use of active learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classrooms. Our overall project goals seek to expand the adoption of active learning in STEM classrooms. Active learning has been shown to improve student grades, retention rates, and overall understanding of course material. We define active learning as any time an instructor goes beyond lecturing to their students (e.g., think-pair-shares, class discussions). Research has shown adoption of active learning in STEM courses has been slow with one common cited reason for not implementing active learning in their courses is the fear of student resistance. Student resistance can be defined as any negative student reaction to active learning (e.g., distracting others, giving lower course evaluations, or refusing to participate in the activity).

For this study, we recruited instructors from across the nation in the Summer of 2021 and collected data from instructors and students from Fall 2021-Winter 2022. During recruitment, we paid particular attention on ensuring we were recruiting instructors from a broad swath of institution types, including doctoral granting institutions, community colleges, and everything in between. While much of the research on active learning has focused on 4-year schools, this research aims to elucidate what active learning looks like in community colleges, as well as community college student perspectives on these activities. Additional data will share common strategies used for implementing active learning that differ between community college and four-year settings.

This paper focuses on how instructors teaching at community colleges are using active learning in their classrooms and their attitudes towards active learning. Additionally, we will explore the instructor’s self-efficacy towards using active learning in the hopes of having a better overall understanding of what is occurring in STEM community college classrooms and where potential improvements can be made in terms of faculty development.

Authors

Ariel Chasen http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6889-3202 University of Texas, Austin [biography]

PhD Student in STEM education at University of Texas at Austin
Ms. Lea K. Marlor http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7780-7599 University of Michigan [biography]

Lea Marlor is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Michigan, studying Engineering Education Research. She has a M.S. in Engineering Education Research from the University of Michigan, as well as a B.S. in Materials Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Previously, she was the Associate Director for Education for the Center for Energy Efficient Electronics Sciences
Dr. Cynthia J. Finelli http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9148-1492 University of Michigan [biography]

Dr. Cynthia Finelli is Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Professor of Education, and Director and Graduate Chair for Engineering Education Research Programs at University of Michigan. She is Fellow of both the ASEE and the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), associate editor for the European Journal of Engineering Education, and member of the Governing Board of the Research in Engineering Education Network. She was previously chair of EECHA, chair of the ERM Division of ASEE, co-chair of the ASEE Committee on Scholarly Publications, deputy editor for the Journal of Engineering Education, and associate editor for IEEE Transactions on Education.

Dr. Finelli studies the academic success of students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), social justice attitudes in engineering, and faculty adoption of evidence-based teaching practices. She also led a project to develop a taxonomy for the field of engineering education research, and she was part of a team that studied ethical decision-making in engineering students.
Dr. Maura Borrego http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7131-4611 University of Texas at Austin [biography]

Maura Borrego is Director of the Center for Engineering Education and Professor of Mechanical Engineering and STEM Education at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Borrego is Senior Associaate Editor for Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and E
Dr. Jenefer Husman University of Oregon [biography]

Jenefer Husman received a doctoral degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, in 1998. She served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama from 1998 to 2002, when she moved to Arizona State University. In 2008 s
Dr. Michael J. Prince Bucknell University [biography]

Dr. Michael Prince is a professor of chemical engineering at Bucknell University and co-director of the National Effective Teaching Institute. His research examines a range of engineering education topics, including how to assess and repair student misco
Dr. Matthew Charles Graham

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