2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

What Works in Implementing EBIPs? Faculty Experiences of Contextual Barriers and Strategies to Overcome Them

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session I

Evidence-Based Instructional Practices (EBIPs) are pedagogical approaches grounded in research that enhance student learning, engagement, and retention. These methods, such as active learning, problem-based learning, and peer instruction, have been shown to improve both short- and long-term learning outcomes, particularly in fields like engineering, where students often face complex, abstract concepts and large class sizes. EBIPs help bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world application, fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are essential in engineering education. Despite their known benefits, many engineering faculty struggle to implement EBIPs due to limited training, time constraints, and a lack of discipline-specific resources.

This NSF-funded project seeks to increase the adoption of EBIPs in undergraduate engineering courses by identifying and addressing the specific contextual barriers and affordances that faculty face during implementation. Faculty often report challenges such as insufficient time for curriculum redesign, a lack of professional development opportunities, and institutional cultures that prioritize research over teaching innovation. To address these challenges, the project focuses on three key activities: (1) investigating the decision-making processes and contextual challenges faculty encounter when implementing EBIPs; (2) co-developing course materials and curriculum to align with EBIP strategies; and (3) creating research-informed resources to support EBIP-based course development.

This project engages faculty from over 40 institutions, including R1 universities, undergraduate-focused colleges, minority-serving institutions, and two-year colleges. By capturing faculty experiences across this diverse range of educational environments, the project aims to develop scalable, adaptable strategies for EBIP implementation. Faculty participants are paired with experienced mentors who provide ongoing, tailored support to address discipline-specific challenges. These mentors assist in curriculum redesign, pedagogical guidance, and troubleshooting barriers, facilitating a deeper understanding of how EBIPs can be integrated effectively.

In this poster, we present key findings from the project, focusing on the contextual barriers faculty encounter during the decision-making process of implementing EBIPs, and the strategies used to overcome these challenges. Case study examples from the participating institutions illustrate both the struggles and successes faculty experience under the scaffolded guidance of a faculty mentor. These case studies offer a window into the process of curriculum transformation, highlighting practical approaches to integrating EBIPs and providing rich, detailed descriptions of the change process.

Authors

Dr. Maya Menon http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3515-6614 New Jersey Institute of Technology [biography]

Maya Menon is a postdoctoral researcher at New Jersey Institute of Technology. She completed her PhD in Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. She has an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Arizona State University and a graduate degree in Robotics and Automation from Amrita University. Her research focuses on understanding how engineering education can empower young engineers to work toward a sustainable future, including interdisciplinary engineering education and faculty decision-making.
Stephanie Adams Oregon State University [biography]

Stephanie Adams is currently enrolled as a doctoral student at Oregon State University, where she is working towards her PhD in Civil Engineering with a concentration in Engineering Education. Her current research focuses on the adoption of evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs) among engineering faculty members. Additionally, she is investigating the identity development of engineering students in capstone courses.
Dr. Prateek Shekhar http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6552-2887 New Jersey Institute of Technology [biography]

Dr. Prateek Shekhar is an Assistant Professor – Engineering Education in the School of Applied Engineering and Technology at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas - Austin, an MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California, and a BS in Electronics and Communication Engineering from India. Dr. Shekhar also holds a Graduate Certificate in Engineering Education from Virginia Tech. Prior to his current appointment, he worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher and Assistant Research Scientist at the University of Michigan. He is the recipient of the 2018 Outstanding Postdoctoral Researcher Award at the University of Michigan; and serves as a PI/Co-PI on multiple projects funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and Kern Family Foundation. He has served in editorial capacity for the Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education, and Journal of International Engineering Education.
Dr. Shane A. Brown P.E. http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3669-8407 Oregon State University [biography]

Shane Brown is an associate professor and Associate School Head in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Oregon State University. His research interests include conceptual change and situated cognition. He received the NSF CAREER award in
Jeff Knowles http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1453-9923 Oregon State University [biography]

Dr. Jeff Knowles is an engineering instructor at Oregon State University who began teaching courses in 2015. His current pedagogical research is related to barriers associated with implementing Evidence-Based Instructional Practices (EBIPs) in STEM-related courses and determining what affordances can be granted to overcome such contextual obstacles. Jeff's interests also include the numerical modeling of nonlinear wave phenomena.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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