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In 2016, DCAL set out to establish a stronger link between faculty needs and center programming, and thus take a more strategic approach to program planning. At that time, DCAL had never asked faculty directly about their needs and interests in its 13 year history. To do so in a structured way, we developed a data collection instrument and arranged to visit departments during their regular department meetings.
The center director and an accompanying staff person from DCAL visited 30 academic departments in winter and spring 2017 to administer the survey and facilitate conversations about the needs and interests of departments and individual faculty members. A total of 178 people completed the survey.
African and African American Studies program
Anthropology
Art History
Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literature
Biology
Chemistry
Classics
Computer Science
Economics
Education
Environmental Studies
French & Italian
Geography
German
Government
Jewish Studies
Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies
Linguistics
Mathematics
Music
Quantitative Social Science
Psychological and Brain Sciences
Physics & Astronomy
Religion
Russian
Studio Art
Theater
Thayer
Sociology
Spanish & Portuguese
Existing research and best practices for needs assessments informed the design of our instrument (Banta & Palomba, 2015; Guba & Lincoln, 1982; Hines, 2011; Shadle et al., 2015). The instrument asks respondents to indicate their interest in learning about a variety of topics and their preferred learning method(s) for each. The list of topics reflects a comprehensive suite of skills and capacities that our center, along with campus partners, deemed relevant to good teaching. The instrument concludes with open-ended questions asking respondents to identify the largest barriers they face to focusing on teaching, and what might lower those barriers.
Download the instrument (PDF)
Initial results (n=178) indicate that, among the teaching topics included on the survey, faculty are most interested in learning from DCAL about:
The most preferred modes of learning were “workshop/conversation open to all” and “workshop/conversation with my department,” though individual consultations and written resources also generated notable interest.
The conversations with departments were highly valuable and variable. Topics that arose, among many others, included:
This variety of topics does not lend itself to generalizable take-aways or succinct reporting. However, it does reflect the wide range of subject areas that DCAL’s works touches. It also reflects that Dartmouth faculty care deeply about teaching. It is our hope that DCAL can continue these conversations with departments and individuals to be a source of information and support in all areas related to teaching at Dartmouth.
Survey results revealed a spectrum of needs and interests among departments and individual faculty related to their teaching, including what kinds of supports they need, and what kinds of existing supports they may be unaware of.
Looking at the results departmentally, there were some clear patterns of interest in modes of learning and topics of interest. Further, many individuals in several departments articulated (either in conversation or via survey responses) that they want to discuss teaching and learning with their department specifically. We are interested in understanding the depth of this interest and what these offerings might be.
Some topics were strongly correlated with particular modes of learning. For example, 62 respondents indicated interest in one-on-one consulting on the topic “designing a course from scratch,” 64 for “effectively using Canvas,” and 55 for “incorporating technology into your teaching.”
Workshops open to all, individual consultations, and books have long been available from DCAL, but conversations tailored to departments and online and physical resources have been lacking. Two possible strategies:
There are many possible ways to identify the best path forward. Some of the questions we want to address include:
DCAL’s primary goal is to improve teaching and learning at Dartmouth by helping faculty improve their pedagogical effectiveness and efficiency.DCAL is committed to providing resources, removing barriers, promoting evidence-based practices, and building partnerships to cultivate a culture that values and rewards teaching for all members of Dartmouth’s scholar-educator community. Current resources that DCAL offers include workshops and programs on a variety of topics each term, one-on-one consultations, a lending library of books on teaching and learning topics, and an online collection of informational guides. These resources are available to all members of Dartmouth’s teaching community, including administrators, faculty of all ranks, staff, graduate students, postdocs, TAs, and undergraduate students.
We intend to facilitate more opportunities for departments and individuals to provide us with information about their needs and interests so that we can continue to tailor our offerings to meet them most effectively. Initially, DCAL will focus on addressing the most pressing identified areas of need and inviting departments and programs to use the resulting resources. In addition to these structured invitations, DCAL welcomes input, feedback, and inquiries at any time related to its services, programming, and resources.
Banta, T. W. & Palomba, C. A. (2015). Assessment Essentials (second edition). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1982). The place of values in needs assessment. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 4(3), pp. 311-320.
Hines, S. R. (2011). How mature teaching and learning centers evaluate their services. To Improve the Academy: Resources for Faculty, Instructional, and Organizational Development, 30. Pp. 278-288.
Shadle, S., Ortquist-Ahrens, L., Serro, L., Sagmiller, K., Ouellett, M., & Beach, A. (2015). Catalyzing institutional change: A model for effective practice. Presentation Delivered at the 2015 Annual POD Conference in Louisville, KY.
In addition, past work from Texas A&M and relevant discussions from the ASSESS Listserv archives informed the design and implementation of the survey.