Measuring STEM Instructors' Learning of and Growth in Inclusive Teaching: Development and Evaluation of the STEM Faculty Inclusive Teaching Survey (FITS).

Abstract

There is a growing emphasis for professional development programs that teach instructors about inclusive Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) practices and the impact of instructor and student identities on these practices. As instructors implement these practices, there is a need for instructors, departments, and faculty developers to measure instructor progress and to help identify next steps in improving inclusive STEM teaching. This study describes the development of the Faculty Inclusive Teaching Survey (FITS) using scale-development theory, frameworks using Clarke and Hollingsworth's interconnected model of professional growth and Dewsbury's Deep Teaching model, and higher-education STEM, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and professional development literature. Using data of three cohorts from an online national inclusive STEM teaching program, exploratory factor and confirmatory factor analyses and invariance measurements were conducted to evaluate the initial internal structure of the FITS, comprising four measures: Awareness and Impact of Identity, Confidence in Inclusive Teaching, Reflection on Inclusive Teaching, and Likelihood to Implement Inclusive Teaching. Our results provide initial evidence that the FITS could be used as one of the measurement approaches for instructor feedback and growth to support multidimensional and iterative learning about inclusive teaching in higher education. Implications and suggestions for practical use and future research are provided.