Nelson, J. K., & Hjalmarson, M. (2019, June), Insights into the Nature of Change and Sustainability in an Ongoing Faculty Development Effort  Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida. 10.18260/1-2--32968

\bibitem{asee_peer_32968}
  Nelson, J. K., \& Hjalmarson, M. (2019, June), \emph{Insights into the Nature of Change and Sustainability in an Ongoing Faculty Development Effort}
  Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition , Tampa, Florida.
  10.18260/1-2--32968

Jill K. Nelson and Margret Hjalmarson.  "Insights into the Nature of Change and Sustainability in an Ongoing Faculty Development Effort".  2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida, 2019, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2019.  https://peer.asee.org/32968 Internet.  16 Apr, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_32968}
  Jill K. Nelson and Margret Hjalmarson.
  "Insights into the Nature of Change and Sustainability in an Ongoing Faculty Development Effort".
  \emph{2019 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition , Tampa, Florida, 2019, June}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2019.
  https://peer.asee.org/32968 Internet.  16 Apr, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_32968
author = "Jill K. Nelson and Margret Hjalmarson"
title = "Insights into the Nature of Change and Sustainability in an Ongoing Faculty Development Effort"
booktitle = "2019 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition "
year = "2019"
month = "June"
address = "Tampa, Florida"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/32968}
number = {10.18260/1-2--32968}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This panel paper describes an example of connecting theory to practice in a faculty teaching development effort and describes lessons learned through this change project. We share insights gained from the application of Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations framework to study STEM faculty's adoption of evidence-based teaching practices in their courses. 
 
The aim of this NSF-funded project was to study the use of ongoing teaching development groups as a mechanism for broadening the adoption of student-centered teaching strategies in university STEM courses. Discipline-focused teaching development groups operated in six different STEM departments within a single university. Groups met regularly over the course of at least one academic year. During group meetings, participants learned about evidence-based teaching strategies, shared their own challenges and ideas for their classrooms, and received feedback on strategies they were developing and/or implementing.  
 
The ongoing teaching development group model implemented in this project was motivated by existing work in K-12 professional development that shows the value of continuing, collaborative teaching development that connects to instructors' classroom experiences. Following the diffusion of innovations framework, the teaching development groups were led by innovators or early adopters, and participation was voluntary, drawing from those in each department who were open to adopting new practices. Participants were encouraged to undertake small changes, and the researchers hypothesized that, over time, incremental change would lead to larger sustainable changes in teaching.  
 
A primary insight gained from this study was the speed of change. Even for willing and engaged faculty, change from entrenched methods of teaching to new evidence-based practices was a slow process. The study also provided interesting insights into motivations for late (or less willing) adopters. The teaching development groups in this study were people-driven; participants were asked to bring their own challenges and identify changes that addressed their needs, rather than being asked to adopt a prescribed strategy. Moving beyond early adopters was challenging, as expected, and we found that later adopters who did participate in the groups were motivated by specific challenges. For example, one participant was a veteran instructor who had recently inherited a very large course and was motivated to learn about strategies for teaching in that environment.   
 
The teaching development group project also provided insights about the sustainability of the discipline-based groups. First, groups evolve over time, particularly if they continue for more than a year. The needs of the participants change, and group structures and activities must evolve to meet changing needs. Second, the people-driven aspect of the teaching development groups was critical to their sustainability. Participants must collaboratively develop an agenda for the group and for themselves; when a set agenda is presented that doesn't match their own needs, participants are driven away from the group. 
 
This paper will further describe the structure, goals, and activities of the teaching development groups; recruitment and participation; and lessons learned about the nature of teaching change in a voluntary faculty teaching development effort. We propose to present this work as part of a panel session in which brief remarks by each panelist are followed by time for questions and discussion. 

AU  - Jill K. Nelson
AU  - Margret Hjalmarson
CY  - Tampa, Florida
DA  - 2019/06/15
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Insights into the Nature of Change and Sustainability in an Ongoing Faculty Development Effort
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/32968
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--32968
ER  -