Task Force Survey Results

As part of its mission, The MIT Task Force on Student Life and Learning examined the current teaching methods used by the faculty and discovered that much of undergraduate teaching still relied heavily on the lecture method and did not appear to incorporate many of the types of technology available. To better understand this issue, the Task Force surveyed all MIT faculty on the role of technology in the teaching enterprise. The survey queried faculty on their current use of technology in the classroom and outside the classroom and how they thought they might use technology in the future. It also asked faculty what they perceived to be impediments to the use of technology in their teaching.

554 faculty have returned surveys. The overall response rates for faculty who provided data for each rank were:

Professor	44.70%
Associate Professor With Tenure	48.10%
Associate Professor w/o Tenure	43.00%
Assistant Professor	56.50%
Professor w/o Tenure (retired)	23.80%
Visiting Faculty	26.30%

Preliminary analysis of the survey found that:

• Classroom blackboards and overhead projections are and will continue to be widely used by the MIT faculty. Distance learning is still a technology that the faculty do not use or foresee using in teaching traditional MIT students. In the classroom, it appears that faculty believe that simple is better.
• Over 50% of the faculty plan to use projected Web access and portable computer projection equipment in the next three years. This change has implications for classroom renovations and design. Faculty will need to connect ubiquitously to the MIT network in the classrooms. Computer projection equipment will need to be provided in many more classrooms and maintained.
• Use of technology in teaching is and will be greatest outside the classroom. Over 50% of the faculty reported using word processing, spreadsheet software applications, and electric distribution of class materials using Athena currently. Over 50% of the faculty reported wanting to use word processing, electronic distribution of material using Athena, computer simulations, spreadsheet software applications, Web-based or commercial educational materials, MATLAB, e-mail discussion lists, and electronic submission of papers and problem sets in the next 3 years.
• The faculty report that a major impediment to using technology in teaching at MIT is time; time for curriculum development, time for preparation for each class period, and time for learning technology. Closely following time is staff support and the cost of developing and/or converting existing materials to use with new technologies.
• Limited professional recognition, perceptions that technology and teaching is not an Institute or a department priority, personal lack of interest or the perception that the Institute culture suppresses educational innovation were seen as impediments by less than 50% of the faculty.

A few simple conclusions can be drawn from this study:

• If faculty are to use more technology in their teaching activities, they must have training in how to use technology efficiently. They must be provided with basic electronic access in the classroom that is reliable and easy to use.
• Change in the use of technology will come about if there are staff who can help convert and prepare materials and support faculty inside and outside the classroom. If there is enough support available, the faculty’s projected use of technology in the classroom will change.
• Most of the technological innovation in teaching at MIT will continue to be in non-classroom teaching activities, such as how students access and submit materials, how they get extra help, and how they continue learning beyond the classroom by exchanging ideas with other students and faculty. This has continuing implications for the presence of technology in our planned residential facilities, study facilities such as the library, and the location of computing clusters throughout the campus.

What this survey did not address is the appropriate role of technology in teaching undergraduate and graduate students. If changes in the role of technology are desired, how can these changes be introduced and encouraged on the campus? Will technology increase the burden of academic support rather than make it more efficient?