The Role of Teaching Discussion Groups to Support the Adoption of Innovative Teaching Practices

Abstract

The Interactive Teaching Discussion Group (ITDG) comprises five faculty members from the Electrical & Computer Engineering and Bioengineering departments within the Volgenau School of Engineering. The group has been actively meeting since the spring 2012 semester to discuss individual classroom experiences to provide ongoing, discipline-specific feedback and support for improving teaching,and to examine and incorporate new teaching methods with the goal of increasing information retention, reducing student misconceptions, and providing a more interactive learning environment. The courses targeted by this effort range from introductory level to senior level within the Bachelor of Science programs in Electrical, Computer, and Bioengineering. As a result of their discussions, each member adopted a new teaching technique in their respective courses during the 2012-2013 academic year. The ITDG is part of a multi-university NSF-funded project focused on developing long-term faculty development models for broadening incorporation of research-proven teaching practices in engineering classrooms. This interactive presentation session will discuss the goals of the group and allow members of the ITDG to share some of their newly-adopted techniques, together with their outcomes. Additionally, it will provide information and guidance to attendees interested in forming similar teaching-focused discussion groups within their units.