Hi Chris,
Having tried incentives at multiple institutions (SUNY-Albany, UT El Paso, and Vancouver Island University), I can say for certain that they do have an impact,
but it’s due more to their symbolic value rather than the monetary value. I’ve traditionally offered something in the neighborhood of $500, payable in kind, once a set of very specific project benchmarks have been met. If you’re interested, let me know and
I’ll send you a list of those.
If the stipend is too big, it turns the whole affair into a transaction. If the stipend is too small, it feels a bit like an insult.
The stipend has two effects:
1) A tease to tip forward those who are interested. Rarely does it capture someone who was not already inclined. We use an application process that helps communicate
expectations for participation, and that tends to help filter out those who might do it purely for the money. The benchmarks, for example, are presented in the application form, and are not trivial.
2) Pull through: the stipend provides a pretext for follow ups with the new adopter. For example, we can say, “If you’d like to complete the TBL project and qualify
for the 500, then here’s the next benchmark you need to hit.” Hitting the benchmarks and “completing” the project are driven by the faculty member’s sense of pride in completing what he/she committed to.
It is often the case that, by the end of the semester-long project to learn and adopt TBL, the faculty members are no longer interested in the money, and have
to be actively urged to spend it. But having the $500 as an initial external motivator makes a difference.
Bill Roberson
Vancouver Island University
From: Team-Based Learning [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Boettcher, Christopher E.
Sent: Tuesday, April 18, 2017 2:46 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Help with incentives for faculty?
Hello, All,
I’m co-leading a project at my university that has some overlaps with TBL, but I’m looking for some help more with organizational issues rather than pedagogical
ones.
Basically, I’m wondering if you have good experience with approaches that incentivize adoption of TBL (or other pedagogies) in new or revised courses. I’m wondering
about things like stipends or models for compensated faculty development. I’d be especially interested to know if there is any evidence to back up the efficacy of such approaches, for example, if certain amounts or certain practices work better than others.
I’ve gotten some really good advice about structural changes to things like faculty evaluation and culture of discussion of teaching and learning. However, figuring
out whether and how much to pay faculty for work that I am about to send call outs for is a pressing concern. There are a lot of specific factors at play in my unionized environment, but any general help would be much appreciated!
Thanks,
Chris
-----
Christopher Boettcher, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English
Castleton University
Castleton, VT 05735
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