Independent Center Research

Study of Faculty Buy-in to STEM Learning Interventions

This study investigates some of the challenges of, and suggestions for, gaining greater faculty buy-in for participation in learning interventions in the STEM disciplines.

The Faculty Buy-in Study examines some of the challenges to gaining buy-in from faculty for learning interventions in the STEM disciplines. Gaining faculty buy-in is as critical for a program's success and sustainability as it is for encouraging student retention and program completion. Our developing research is based on formal interviews as well as several years of interaction with a wide range of STEM faculty in two of our largest learning interventions, the Gateway Science Workshop Program (GSW) and the Science Research Workshop Program (SRW). The research details some of the characteristics we attribute to bought-in vs. less-bought in faculty. The study also offers some suggestions, based on our experiences at Northwestern, for ways that the buy-in challenge can be addressed more generally. The study's findings are currently being prepared for submission to an academic journal. 

Streitwieser, B. (2008). Encouraging Faculty Participation. Panel discussion at the National Science Foundation STEP Grantees Meeting, Arlington VA.

Streitwieser, B., Drane, D., & Lainez, L. (2009). Gaining Faculty Buy-in to STEM Learning Interventions: Challenges and Lessons Learned at Northwestern University. Presentation at the Annual STEP Communities in Conversation Meeting, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois.