The National Effective Teaching Institute (NETI) is a three-day workshop held each year just prior to the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Engineering Education. It is sponsored by the Educational Research and Methods and the Chemical Engineering Divisions of the ASEE and funded in part by participants' registration fees and in part by industrial contributions. The workshop is codirected by Rebecca Brent (President, Education Designs, Inc., Cary, NC), Richard Felder (Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University), Michael Prince (Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bucknell University), and James Stice (Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas-Austin).
Every January engineering and engineering technology deans in the United
States and Canada are invited to nominate up to two faculty members from
their campuses to attend the NETI. Nominees must have at least one year of
teaching experience prior to attending. Nominations are accepted on a
first-come first-served basis up to a maximum of 50. The deans are expected
to pay their nominees' expenses, which include travel, subsistence, and the
$950 NETI registration fee.
The NETI has been given every year since 1991, reaching 935 participants from
208 different schools. In their final evaluations, the responding participants have given the workshop 649 "Excellent" ratings, 166 "Good," 5
"Average," and no "Fair" or "Poor" ratings.
The NETI has a dual purpose. Most obviously, it is intended to give the
participants information and some hands-on practice in the elements of
effective teaching--lecturing, active and cooperative learning, course
planning, testing and grading, and dealing with a variety of problems that
commonly arise in the life of a faculty member. The workshop is also intended to provide new faculty with tips on getting their careers off to a good start and experienced faculty with instructional materials and methods that they can use in faculty development programs on their own campuses. Experienced faculty who are nominated should therefore be among the better teachers on their campuses, as opposed to teachers having problems and seeking assistance.
The 2009 NETI will take place in Austin, Texas, on June 11-13. The NETI has almost always had a full enrollment and we have had to deny admission to as many as 25 applicants, so it is advisable to send in the applications as soon as possible after the deans receive the forms in January. For additional information, contact Richard Felder at rmfelder@mindspring.com.
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