Faculty Development as a Moving Target

Yep, it can definitely seem that way. We work with our faculty to "plan" their development, and what happens? Conferences get cancelled, trainers don't deliver what they claimed...and so on. How can we optimize training plans for faculty if there isn't anything we can count on!? Here's how...

Quick tips: Meet your faculty where they are. Recognize that everyone is different and so are their needs. In fact, individual needs can change daily...know that and embrace it. Look for key elements of strong, solid teaching in every teacher observation. Identify core skills that you want all faculty to have, and find training to build those skills.

Start looking at your institutional mission and vision; do your faculty teach within your mission and vision? It's a great place to start. Development and training should be inspirational!

Community Engagement: what's in a name?

As it turns out, there's a lot in a name. This is especially true when it comes to "community engagement," because institutions have to first define what the term means. At some, it means engaging in service projects that are not tied to coursework. Others will turn to service learning initiatives, seeking to involve students in service opportunities. Others will immerse themselves in the concept, establishing a comprehensive system of programs that engage the campus community in the community-at-large. Whatever your campus calls it, community engagement activities are, most definitely, worth the effort.

Happy New Year!

As we take a moment to reflect on the past, we also have an opportunity to renew our hopes and dreams for the future. Enjoy your day and please join me tomorrow when I resume posting here. Our discussion on the future of adult basic education community partnerships will begin!

If students are disengaged, why promote faculty engagement?

This question has a short answer but, as you might have guessed, I'm going to take the long way around...hang in there. Those of you who have read my posted replies to items in blogs sponsored by #chronicle and #facultyfocus are already familiar with my thoughts on the findings in the book "Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses," which was released earlier this year and written by Arum and Roska. Students in their study were found to study less, yet achieve higher grades, than students on the 1970s and 1980s. PArt of the problem appears to be grade inflation (after all, today's B is yesterday's C), but there's another piece of the puzzle. Based on my interactions with faculty at several institutions, here's the trend I continue to see: student engagement is often a reflection of faculty engagement. That doesn't mean that, just because a faculty member goes to the football games that his or her students will miraculously care more about learning...but they might care more about school and why they are attending. It pays to show an interest, and everyone benefits.

So back to the original question: we push faculty engagement because we know it drives student engagement, which tends to drive retention and (later) career placement. Of course, this is no easy task, so we'll spend several posts in the future identifying ways to engage faculty...especially adjuncts and part-timers.

An all-campus effort

Yesterday, I mentioned that you'll probably have the framework for what your development and training of faculty will look like be, at least somewhat, decided for you by the institution you work for. Whether you are a faculty member or administrator, the institution will probably have already developed a solid foundation on which to build future training plans. If you are fortunate, training and development is already part of the culture. If not, though, we have to ask the question of the day: whose responsibility is it?

If you're still trying to figure out what's important at your institution, consider this: if training is part of your campus culture, your faculy members (regardless of rank) know what's expected of them as part of their employment. And I mean everybody knows...part-timers, adjuncts, program chairpersons, deans, human resources, student services...everybody. The short answer to our earlier question is that everyone is responsible for faculty development. If you aren't sure where to start, check in with another faculty member or dean who has been at the institution for at least a year. What kinds of training are they participating in? Who do they ask for help in developing training plans for themselves? Do they contribute to the development of others...and how? Use your resources!

The foundation

As I begin this conversation on faculty training and development, a few points of clarification come to mind...things that we should address up front as the foundational framework for the discussion. The first item is to establish a basic understanding of what "faculty development and training" means. And, right away, this presents a problem: while terms like "development" and "training" are widely used to describe seemingly basic concepts, I am immediately struck by the roadblock created by their overuse. Here's the thing...in higher education, these terms, once intended as accurate descriptors of activities that help one or more people become "better," have been reduced to popular buzzwords. I could argue that these terms don't really describe anything anymore. PS: we'll save our discussion for the real meaning of "better" for a later date...it's going to be part of a future post on accountability.

Let's just say that, as far as I am concerned, you and the institution(s) you work for will probably have an already well-established idea of what it means to develop and train faculty members. The purpose of this blog is to identify and share strategies that can and have worked in various settings. I plan to hit this from a variety of angles, taking into account the realities of the American condition of higher education, in particular...stressed budgets, high numbers of adjunct faculty, students' level of engagement (real and desired), the governmental push for accountability through assessment of learning...we'll touch on all of it along the way.

I mentioned at the start that we'd be establishing a few points of clarification, and we'll look at the next one as the topic for another day: "whose responsibility is it to develop faculty to 'peak performance?'"

Welcome...and Merry Christmas!

Blogging for the first time on Christmas Day? Sure! Why not?!

My mission is to empower college instructors and the administrators who support them in their efforts to inspire student learning through quality teaching. The primary focus of this blog is to identify and discuss various teaching techniques and their effectiveness in academia. As a secondary focus, I will also explore what it means to "teach effectively" and the role of assessment will also be discussed on a regular basis. I look forward to collaborating with you!

Over the past 15 years, I have partnered with many educators, institutions, and non-educational agencies/companies to improve access to quality higher education experiences. I have provided training to over 500 faculty members and continue to support even more. I have supervised faculty across multiple disciplines in the Arts & Sciences, Health & Human Services, and adult basic education.

I am pleased to offer consulting services related to faculty development, interpretation of student assessment results, and establishing collaborative partnerships for community-based learning models.I look forward to discussing these top is in the blog. Thanks for joining me!