Intercollegiate coaching in a faculty professional development program that integrates pedagogical best practices and the entrepreneurial mindset

This work-in-progress (WIP) paper reports on intercollegiate faculty coaching experiences in a large-scale engineering professional development program funded through the Kern Family Foundation. Research demonstrates that adding coaching and one-on-one targeted discussions to the traditional workshop professional development model effectively supports faculty with integration of pedagogical approaches, conceptualization of strategy application in their classes and content, and persistence through later phases of Diffusion of Innovation models including confirmation and adoption. Despite increased interest and offerings of higher education faculty development programs in recent years, coaching in higher education settings, particularly in the engineering disciplines, remains relatively rare. If coaching does take place, it typically occurs on a small-scale or in single discipline programs. Rarely, if ever, does intercollegiate coaching occur. This study reports on the effectiveness of a large-scale coaching effort, with 73 faculty participants from 15 engineering disciplines at more than 30 universities across the country. Beginning in the summer of 2019, a diverse group of engineering faculty participated in the Innovating Curriculum with Entrepreneurial Mindset (ICE) faculty development workshop. This intensive three-day workshop introduced faculty to the framework of entrepreneurially minded learning (EML) centered on curiosity, connections, and creating value. The workshops promoted evidence-based pedagogical best practices and participants experienced different active learning techniques that can be applied to instill the entrepreneurial mindset in students at their home institution. Following the workshops, faculty were provided with ongoing coaching and support comprised of two individual coaching sessions and two small-group Community of Practice coaching sessions. Coaching sessions included in this study were led by a four-member, intercollegiate coaching team comprised of experts in engineering education, EML classroom integration, and instructional effectiveness. This WIP paper reports on the first half of this ongoing project, including the summer workshops and summer and fall coaching sessions. This paper reports and reflects on coaching session notes and discussions with participants. Evaluation includes trend analysis to identify themes raised during coaching sessions, and assessment of the effectiveness of the coaching meetings. Future survey data will be used to measure the effectiveness of coaching sessions for implementation and accountability of project goals.