Faculty Survey of Teaching Practices and Perceptions of Institutional Attitudes Toward Teaching, 1997-1998.

This report presents findings of a survey of engineering college faculty at eight participating institutions in SUCCEED (Southeastern University and College Coalition for Engineering Education) concerning their use of various instructional methods, their prior involvement in instructional development programs, and their perceptions about institutional support for teaching on their campuses. Findings of the survey responses (n=503, or 32 percent) were analyzed and organized according to the following aspects: participation in faculty development programs and discussions of teaching; use of instructor-centered teaching methods; use of active learning; use of group assignments, team projects, and writing assignments; use of various methods of communicating with students; and rated importance of teaching quality. Analysis also looked at inter-institutional differences, differences by professorial rank, and sex differences. Findings indicated a moderate level of involvement by respondents in attending teaching seminars and implementing nontraditional teaching practices, such as using team activities in and out of class, giving writing assignments, and using e-mail and the World Wide Web. Respondents tended to believe that teaching is more important to them than it is to their colleagues and administrators and that it counts for relatively little in the faculty incentive and reward structure. The questionnaire is appended. (DB)