Exploring the Experiences and Needs of Faculty When Implementing Active Learning at a Public Southeastern Regional University: A Mixed-Methods Approach

University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations Spring 2020 Exploring the Experiences and Needs of Faculty When Implementing Active Learning at a Public Southeastern Regional University: A Mixed-Methods Approach Michael Lampe Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons Recommended Citation Lampe, M.(2020) Exploring the Experiences and Needs of Faculty When Implementing Active Learning at a Public Southeastern Regional University: A Mixed-Methods Approach (Doctoral dissertation) Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/5875 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons For more information, please contact dillarda@mailbox.sc.edu EXPLORING THE EXPERIENCES AND NEEDS OF FACULTY WHEN IMPLEMENTING ACTIVE LEARNING AT A PUBLIC SOUTHEASTERN REGIONAL UNIVERSITY: A MIXED-METHODS APPROACH by Michael Lampe Bachelor of Arts St Norbert College, 2010 Master of Education Marquette University, 2013 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction College of Education University of South Carolina 2020 Accepted by: Fatih Ari, Major Professor Michael M Grant, Committee Member Ismahan Arslan-Ari, Committee Member Anna C Clifford, Committee Member Cheryl L Addy, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School © Copyright by Michael Lampe, 2020 All Rights Reserved i DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my father who passed away the academic year I was expecting to graduate Regardless of what life events were taking place, a phone call without his reminder about finishing my Doctorate was rare I finished it Dad! See you on the other side ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank everyone who made this study possible including the administrators and participants who were willing to take time out of their busy schedule to provide feedback I would also like to thank Dr Grant, Dr Ari, and the rest of the dissertation committee who provided valuable input to ensure I completed the dissertation in a way that would make a difference in the field I lastly want to thank my family and my fiancé Laura who never hesitated in giving me motivation and support during the challenging process iii ABSTRACT The purpose of this action research was to identify participant experiences and needs of faculty when teaching in the active learning classrooms at a public regional southeastern university This study aimed to determine what were the experiences of faculty members who have taught in the active learning classrooms, what were the experiences of students who have taken a course in the active learning classrooms, and what are the faculty development, classroom technology, and technical support needs of faculty members who have taught in such classrooms With the five-year Federal grant cycle ending in 2019, the university needs to create a formal process to train faculty members in teaching active learning strategies and preparing them to utilize the active learning classrooms built Such activities and research being done at this institution is consistent with other institutions reporting on how active learning classrooms were constructed and how they created faculty development programs for appropriate active learning instruction in active learning classrooms To answer the research questions, explanatory sequential mixed methods were executed that included sending a quantitative survey and conducting qualitative focus groups with participants chosen through purposive sampling The results of this study indicated overall agreement in the active learning strategies being implemented, the technology experiences within the active learning classrooms, and overall experiences For strategies implemented, faculty and students both agreed that more collaborative activities were being implemented while faculty struggled to implement independent- iv based active learning activities and traditional assessment strategies While participants felt there was adequate technology support, faculty felt that more troubleshooting training was needed and students felt more hands-on exposure is needed prior to starting classroom activities Overall, faculty overwhelming disagreed that the active learning classroom experience was a waste of time while students were mixed on their active learning classroom experience Recommendations given to academic affairs administrators include providing prefaculty development observation activities to allow perspective participants to see the benefits and challenges of teaching in active learning classrooms, address the individual assessment issues related to academic integrity, and training faculty members on how to implement active learning strategies when in traditional or online course environments Recommendations given to information technology administrators include utilizing the technology usefulness results as a way to better allocate technology funds, initiate conversations with academic affairs administrators to standardize active learning classrooms that provide basic rudimentary furniture and technology features, and assist in orientating students to the new active learning classrooms by creating technology tutorials v TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication ii Acknowledgements iii Abstract iv Table of Contents vi List of Tables viii List of Figures ix List of Abbreviations x Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Literature Review .14 Chapter 3: Method .35 Chapter 4: Analysis and Findings 60 Chapter 5: Discussion, Implications, and Limitations .108 References 129 Appendix A: Faculty Survey 146 Appendix B: Faculty Focus Group 151 Appendix C: Student Survey 155 Appendix D: Student Focus Group 160 Appendix E: IRB Approval Letter 163 Appendix F: Original Unadapted Active Learning Strategies Implemented Suvery Subscale 165 vi Appendix G: Original Unadapted Active Learning Experiences Survey Subscale 167 Appendix H: Original Unadapted Focus Group Protocol 170 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Research Questions and Data Sources Alignment 45 Table 3.2 Research Procedures and Timeline 52 Table 3.3 Research questions, Data Collection, and Methods of Analysis .55 Table 4.1 Reliability Coefficients (Cronbach’s α) for the Subscales of Faculty (n=17) and Student (n=319) Surveys 62 Table 4.2 Descriptive Statistics for the Subscales of Faculty (n=17) and Student (n=319) Surveys .62 Table 4.3 Descriptive Statistics for the Active Learning Strategies Subscale for Faculty (n=17) and Student (n=319) Surveys 63 Table 4.4 Descriptive Statistics for the Active Learning Technology Subscale for Faculty (n=17) and Student (n=319) Surveys 64 Table 4.5 Descriptive Statistics for the Faculty Only Active Learning Technology Subscale Items (n=17) .65 Table 4.6 Descriptive Statistics for the Active Learning Experience Subscale for Faculty (n=17) and Student (n=319) Surveys 66 Table 4.7 Descriptive Statistics for the Faculty Only Active Learning Experience Subscale Items (n=17) .66 Table 4.8 Descriptive Statistics for the Technology Usefulness Scale for Faculty (n=17) and Students (n=319) 67 Table 4.9 Categories and Codes Alignment 70 viii .. .EXPLORING THE EXPERIENCES AND NEEDS OF FACULTY WHEN IMPLEMENTING ACTIVE LEARNING AT A PUBLIC SOUTHEASTERN REGIONAL UNIVERSITY: A MIXED-METHODS APPROACH by Michael Lampe Bachelor of Arts... participant experiences and needs of faculty when teaching in the active learning classrooms at a public regional southeastern university This study aimed to determine what were the experiences of faculty. .. teaching in the active learning classrooms at a public regional southeastern university Research Questions What are the experiences of faculty members who have taught in the active learning classrooms?