2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Following up with faculty participants in a large professional development program

Presented at FDD Technical Session 2: Designing Meaningful Faculty Development

Our evidence-based practice paper explores the ongoing course transformation efforts of participants in a Teaching Excellence Network (TEN) at Rutgers University. TEN was funded by a 5-year NSF IUSE grant as part of a multidisciplinary collaboration of science and engineering faculty and Learning Centers staff. We discuss two of our faculty participants, and how their course transformations have been shaped by their participation in TEN.

Many of our STEM departments have hired full-time, teaching-focused faculty. Whereas the population of teaching-focused faculty is larger in non-engineering departments, there are fewer within the School of Engineering. We designed our TEN to bring siloed faculty together, bridging the departmental gaps separating faculty with a shared interest in teaching practice. In doing so, we aimed to reduce barriers to pedagogical improvement while motivating faculty towards said improvement.

Authors APC and EW share their experiences teaching and transforming large enrollment computer science and engineering courses. Both APC and EW participated in the TEN and have been influenced by their experiences. TEN has broadened their professional networks and connected them with teaching focused faculty across campus, and has deepened their understanding of student cognition and learning. Both APC and EW have also found that their participation in the TEN has supported them in building a stronger sense of community in their courses. Their students express higher satisfaction, stronger bonds with each other, and higher success.

Author APC teaches a large, introductory Computer Science course for majors. This course was formerly a “weeder course” with high DFW rates, and poor retention of underrepresented minority students. Author APC has focused on improving both course and departmental attitudes towards inclusive and supportive practices. Believing that inclusion and community building support student success and wellbeing, Author APC has transitioned the course from a competitive atmosphere in which only the best survive to a collaborative atmosphere in which students all support each other in mastering course skills and content.

Author EW teaches a large engineering course that includes students from across multiple years within the major. Her goal was to make this large course (two to three lecture sections of several hundred students) “feel like a small classroom”. She wanted students to be more engaged and connected with the material. She has found that the inclusion of undergraduate Learning Assistants (LAs) has enabled productive student groupwork throughout the class. At the same time, a paucity of instructor time (many students compared to available LAs/instructors) has allowed her to foster a classroom culture of students supporting each other. Students are encouraged to reach out to neighboring groups, sharing expertise and information with each other when an instructor isn’t immediately available.

We will discuss the experiences of Authors APC and EW, and how participation in TEN has supported these experiences and led to greater success. This paper will connect our Structuration and Expectancy-Value Theory framework previously presented at ASEE to the experiences of program participants, even long after participation. We will summarize our work in a talk.

Authors

Christopher A. F. Hass Rutgers University, New Brunswick [biography]

Chris is a physics education researcher, and faculty developer. Their research has primarily focused on human connections and how our interactions with communities furthers our learning and practice. They study these issues with community, belonging, structural, and groundskeeping lenses. Their interests focus on how the people we are connected to support our persistence and success in careers and professional development, how we engage with ideas at the boundaries of different communities of practice (some of which may be new to us), and what people's cognition looks like as they engage with science concepts and problems.
Ana Paula Centeno Ph.D http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5124-1387 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey [biography]

Dr. Centeno is interested in a broad range of problems in Computer Science. Her past research areas included management of power, energy and temperature on data centers, and optimization to reduce the length of stay of patients in emergency rooms. Currently she is interested in curriculum and program design for Computer Science education. Designing curriculum and programs that make computer science accessible, engaging, and inclusive to all students.

She has led the revision of the CS department introductory course sequence to facilitate students’ transition through the sequence, reduce classroom intimidation, and increase students’ interest in computing.

She holds a B.S. (UCPel), M.S. (UFRGS and Stony Brook Universities) and Ph.D. (Rutgers University) degrees in Computer Science.
Dr. Elin M Wicks Rutgers University [biography]

Elin Wicks is an Associate Teaching Professor in Industrial and Systems Engineering Department at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. She earned a PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech. She teaches Engineering Economics to 700+ students each semester. Her research focuses on inclusive teaching practices.
Stacey Blackwell Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Dr. Philip Reid Brown Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey [biography]

Philip Brown is an Associate Teaching Professor in Undergraduate Education at Rutgers School of Engineering. He has a PhD in Engineering Education from Virginia Tech. He teaches, coordinates and develops curricula focused on engineering design, computer programming and data literacy. He also co-coordinates faculty development and peer-support groups based on pedagogical development and peer teaching observations. His research interests include student and faculty motivation, computer programming pedagogy, and faculty pedagogical development.
Corey Ptak Ph.D Columbia University in the City of New York [biography]

Corey Ptak is an Assistant Director at Columbia Universty's Center for Teaching and Learning where his focus is on applying education theory to classroom practice to create accessible, equitable and student-centered learning environments. Corey received his Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology from Cornell University. Corey has been involved educational development for more than 10 years and has extensive experience developing, managing and assessing innovative education related programs in higher ed.
Charles Ruggieri Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey [biography]

Charles “Chaz” Ruggieri is an Associate Professor of Professional Practice in the School of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Chaz is a member of the TRIAD coalition, for which he collaborates with faculty members across STEM departments to create and facilitate interdisciplinary faculty workshops focusing on learning about and implementing educational practices backed by education research literature. Chaz transforms courses and evaluates transformations in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, specifically in the introductory sequences, while also teaching a large-enrollment introductory physics course sequence. Chaz also continues to transform the pedagogical preparation standards of the graduate teaching assistants in his department, and assisting in like-minded efforts in other STEM departments. He earned his PhD in experimental surface and interface physics and also conducted postdoctoral research in physics education research at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
Mary Elizabeth Emenike http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5739-7024 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey [biography]

Mary Emenike is an Associate Professor of Professional Practice in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. She earned a PhD in Chemistry Education Research from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She teaches general chemistry with learning assistants, as well as pedagogy courses to undergraduate academic peer leaders (e.g., learning assistants, teaching interns). She supports and facilitates faculty professional development related to teaching as Director of Rutgers' TRIAD Coalition and with the Learning Assistant Alliance. Her research focuses on the content and professional development of academic peer leaders, student learning outcomes and experiences in introductory STEM courses, student learning in the chemistry teaching laboratory, and faculty professional development related to teaching.

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