Faculty Perceptions of Challenges and Enablers of Effective Teaching in a Large Research-Intensive University - Preliminary Findings

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay

A campuswide 2014 survey at the University of British Columbia Vancouver collected baseline information from 1000+ faculty members to assess teaching practices, attitudes, and the influence of teaching and learning initiatives. The study examines major challenges and enablers of effective teaching at a research-intensive institution, emphasizing emergent themes such as class size, workload, balancing activities and content, perceptions of the institutional value of teaching, and the availability of current teaching support.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Methods

Faculty Perceptions of Challenges and Enablers of Effective Teaching in a Large Research-Intensive University: Preliminary Findings Adriana Briseño-Garzón, Andrea Han, Gülnur Birol, Simon Bates, and Lorne Whitehead University of British Columbia In October 2014, the University of British Columbia Vancouver campus (UBCV) ran a campuswide survey to establish baseline information on teaching practices and attitudes among faculty, to measure the impact of existing teaching and learning initiatives and to identify the conditions leading to change in practices and attitudes around teaching. Over 1000 participants with teaching responsibilities across 11 Faculties responded to the survey. This paper explores the main challengesand enablers of effective teaching practice at this large research-intensive institution, and presents preliminary findings centered on emergent themes of class size, workload, balancing activities and content, perceptions of the institutional value of teaching, and the current support for teaching available at UBCV. Background Emscehrging folarshiropmofBoyeteacrh’n(1g990and) introduction of the Shulman’s (2004) advocacy of scholarly teaching, there has been a considerable amount of interest in researching effective teaching and promoting the use of this evidence to inform individual teaching practice. This trend is reflected in a number of widely read texts (Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett, & Norman, 2010; Bain, 2004; Buskist & Groccia, 2011; Nilson, 2010) as well as specific studies (Deslauriers, Schelew,& Wieman, 2011; Hake, 1998) and meta-analyses (Freeman et al., 2014; Johnson, Johnson, & Smith, 1997; Michael, 2006; Prince, 2004) . Despite the prevalence of information intended to inform scholarly teaching practice, faculty may still be reluctant to move from lecture asthe primary mode of instruction and remain skeptical about the efficacy of other methods (Henderson, Beach, & Finkelstein, 2011; Miller, Martineau, & Clark, 2000) . Experience as a student remains the single most influential factor impacting how faculty teach (Stigler & Hiebert, 2000) . Hence, faculty tend to “teach how they were taught, using largely passive lectures” (Blumberg, 2011, p. 27) and base teaching decision on “what content to deliver and not how to maximize student learning”(Blumberg, 2011, p. 27) . Furthermore, many institutions may be unaware of what teaching practices are employed in the classroom. Classroom practices are rarely shared and many faculty “close the classroom door and experience pedagogical solitude” (Shulman, 1993, p. 6). In an exploration of why evidence based practices were not employed in mathematics, Reys (2013) found this was difficult to determine since institutions rarely collect information on faculty teaching practices. For many years, the University of British Columbia Vancouver (UBCV) was no exception. A large, research-based institution, UBCV is supportive of faculty autonomy and had no centralized reporting process to gather information regarding teaching practices. As a part of the Lasting Education Achieved and Demonstrated (LEAD) initiative, UBC ran its first faculty teaching practices survey at both the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses in 2008 (see Lin, 2008) . This survey was intended to gather baseline information to measure the impact of programs across UBC aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching and learning, such as the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative (CWSEI, Faculty of Science, launched in 2007), as well as to explore the overall teaching climate at UBC. In 2014, UBCV ran an updated version of the survey as a baseline measure for the new Flexible Learning Initiative (launched in 2013), and as a post-initiative measure of CWSEI impact. In addition, the 2014 survey was intended to provide data to inform strategic planning and decision-making, both campus-wide and within Faculties. Methods The development of the 2014 UBCV survey wa

FAQs

What was the purpose of the 2014 UBCV campus survey?

The survey established baseline information about teaching practices and attitudes, measured impacts of existing teaching and learning initiatives, and identified conditions that lead to changes in practices and attitudes.

How many faculty participants responded to the UBCV survey?

More than 1000 participants with teaching responsibilities across 11 faculties responded to the survey.

What key themes does the paper focus on in its preliminary findings?

The findings center on emergent themes including class size, workload, balancing teaching activities and content, perceptions of the institutional value of teaching, and the current support available for teaching at UBCV.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay