The National Effective Teaching Institute (NETI-1) is a three-day effective teaching workshop held twice a year: in June (NETI-1A) just prior to the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Engineering Education, and early in January (NETI-1B) prior to the start of the spring semester at most universities and colleges. The Advanced National Effective Teaching Institute (NETI-2) is held every two years in October. The workshops are sponsored by the Educational Research and Methods Division of the ASEE and funded by participants' registration fees.

All NETI offerings are codirected by Rebecca Brent (President, Education Designs, Inc., Cary, NC), Richard Felder (Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University), and Michael Prince (Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bucknell University).

Rich Felder, Rebecca Brent, Mike Prince

A typical working session at the NETI

At NETI-1A and NETI-1B, Rebecca, Rich, and Mike are are joined by an invited "NETI Fellow" selected from among the nation's rising leaders in engineering education. The 2012-2013 Fellow is Cindy Finelli of the University of Michigan, and the 2013-2014 Fellow will be Ken Reid of Ohio Northern University.

• Click to see a list of all NETI Fellows since 2002.
  
• Click to see additional scenes from past NETIs.

Basic NETI (NETI-1)

Late in 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 NETI-1A, and the nominating forms for NETI-1B go out late in July. Nominees must have at least one semester 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 $1150 NETI registration fee. Click to see a NETI-1 outline.

NETI-1 has been given every year since 1991, reaching 1194 participants from 236 different schools. In their final evaluations, the responding participants have given the workshop 831 "Excellent" ratings, 232 "Good," 9 "Average," 1 "Fair," and no "Poor" ratings.

NETI-1 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--course planning, lecturing, active learning, assessment of learning, 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 and new faculty mentoring 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. In a major survey of NETI alumni, a significant number of past participants reported that the workshop had a positive effect on both their students' learning and their student evaluations.

• If you are a dean, you are advised to send in your nominations as soon as possible after you receive the announcement and nomination forms.
  
• If you are a faculty member and would like to attend NETI-1, you should let your dean know in January (NETI-1A) or July (NETI-1B) that you'd like to be one of your school's nominees.

Registrations are now closed for the 2013 NETI-1A on June 20-22 in Atlanta. The 2014 NETI-1B will be in New Orleans on January 4-6, and the 2014 NETI-1A will be in Indianapolis on June 12-14.

Advanced NETI (NETI-2)

The Advanced National Effective Teaching Institute (NETI-2) is offered every two years. It is designed for instructors familiar with concepts and methods covered in NETI-1 who wish to explore more challenging teaching techniques that promote greater acquisition of high-level skills (including those listed in ABET Outcomes 3a–3k). The registration fee is $950. Deans are invited to nominate faculty members for NETI-2, and faculty members may also apply themselves. Applicants are admitted on a first-come first-served basis up to a maximum of 50.

Click to view and download a NETI-2 outline.

The first NETI-2 was given in Seattle in October 2012 to 48 participants from 38 different schools. In their final evaluations, the responding participants gave the workshop 37 "Excellent" ratings, 8 "Good, and no "Average," "Fair," or "Poor" ratings.

The next offering of NETI-2 will be in Montreal in 2014 on July 14-15. Application forms will be available about six months in advance.

For additional information about any of the NETI programs, contact Richard Felder at rmfelder@mindspring.com.

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