In an international university in Thailand, with students coming from 92 different countries, faculty members reported a need for professional development (PD). The purpose of this study was to understand faculty members' needs and preferences in the undergraduate department to help the administration offer appropriate PD programs. In accordance with the situated cognition theory, professional learning was approached as a social process embedded in workplace interactions. Research questions pertained to teachers' perceptions about their learning needs, program preferences, and the relationship between PD and student learning outcomes. In this descriptive case study, data were collected from fulltime faculty members via a focus group of 5 participants and 8 individual face-to-face and email interviews. In accordance with a maximum variation sampling strategy, the sample included faculty members from varied academic and cultural backgrounds and diverse lengths of experience in the university. Thematic coding analysis revealed 4 themes: (a) a desire to learn specific content such as classroom management techniques, pedagogy for university-level students, assessment design, and instructional technology; (b) a desire to observe and apply new techniques to better engage diverse students in large classes; (c) a desire to learn collegially to share context-relevant information; and (d) expectations from the university administration. As a result of this study, tailored recommendations for this university were derived to contribute to social change. Appropriate PD programs can enable faculty members to hone their pedagogical skills and improve student learning experience in this multicultural setting.

This study was designed to obtain an increased understanding of faculty members’ perceptions of faculty-development activities offered by the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) at one location of a multicampus, regionally accredited, private, nonprofit university. This study was necessary to help with administrative and academic decisions regarding faculty development. The first of the four research questions addressed participants’ perceptions of the TLC’s professional development through workshops to prepare and assist faculty with teaching. The second research question addressed participants’ perceptions of their mentoring experience to support faculty members during their initial teaching assignments. The third and fourth research questions addressed the influence of experience and demographic factors on participants’ overall perceptions of activities offered by the TLC. Survey methodology was utilized to obtain quantitative data. Because the researcher designed the instrument, the questionnaire utilized was validated by a formative and a summative committee and pilot tested. The instrument included questions that were formatted and ordered to address each of the research questions. The first sequence of questions addressed the first research question and offered an opportunity for comments on the overall TLC experience. The second sequence of questions addressed the second research question and allowed an opportunity for comments on mentoring. The third sequence of questions addressed the third and fourth research questions. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The analysis revealed that respondents’ perceptions of the TLC were positive; it adequately prepared them for initial teaching assignments at the university. However, respondents’ comments indicated the need for a variety of topics they would like to have presented at workshops. Participants’ perceptions of mentoring experiences were mixed; however, there was a general indication that there were problems with mentoring experiences and relationships that needed to be addressed. Analysis also indicated that demographic and experience factors had very little impact on respondents’ perceptions of the TLC workshops and mentoring.

No description available.

No description available.

L’intégration des nouvelles technologies en enseignement supérieur ne devrait pas être vue comme un simple effet de mode, mais plutôt comme un cadre de réflexion sur les orientations nouvelles à donner à l’Université du 21ème siècle, en termes de culture institutionnelle, de ressources organisationnelles et d’opérationnalisation d’objectifs de recherche et d’enseignement (Duderstadt et al, 2002 ; Guri-Rosenblit, 2005). En effet, l’émergence d’une nouvelle tendance de formation post-secondaire, qu’est l’intégration des solutions virtuelles au présentiel, n’est pas sans incidences sur les pratiques enseignantes. Or, la littérature n’offre pas de modèles descriptifs satisfaisants permettant de mieux saisir la pertinence des liens entre l’enseignement en contexte d’apprentissage hybride et le développement professionnel des enseignants universitaires. Aussi avons-nous procédé par des observations participantes de deux cours en sciences de la gestion à HEC Montréal, dans les programmes de certificat de premier cycle ainsi que par des entretiens d’explicitation et d’autoconfrontation, pendant toute la session d’automne 2014, pour respectivement recueillir des données sur les pratiques réelles d’un maître d’enseignement, en sociologie du travail, et d’une chargée de cours, en gestion de projets. Notre analyse du corpus, par catégorisations conceptualisantes, a permis la production d’énoncés nomologiques rendant compte de la dynamique de relations entre ces deux phénomènes. Sur le plan scientifique, elle a apporté un éclairage nouveau sur les processus de construction identitaire professionnelle en pédagogie universitaire, en regard des mutations technologiques, socioculturelles et économiques que subissent l’Université, en général, et les pratiques enseignantes et étudiantes, en particulier. L’approche inductive utilisée a donc permis de définir la structure des interactions des deux phénomènes, selon la perspective des deux enseignants, et d’élaborer des modèles d’intervention enracinés dans leurs pratiques quotidiennes. Aussi sur le plan social, ces modèles sont-ils l’expression d’une grammaire de la pensée et de l’action, ancrée dans les valeurs des enseignants eux-mêmes. Nous avons pris en compte le paradigme de la tâche réelle, versus celui de la tâche prescrite, en termes de mise en œuvre concrète des processus pédagogiques, pour rendre les résultats de cette recherche signifiants pour la pratique. Les modèles, qui ont émergé de notre configuration de la pensée dialogique des participants, peuvent être intégrés à la formation des enseignants universitaires en contexte de bimodalisation de l’Université. / The integration of new technologies in higher education should not be seen as a mere fad, but rather a framework for redesigning the new orientations to be given to the University of the 21st century, in terms of institutional culture, organizational resources and achieving the objectives of research and teaching programs. Indeed, the emergence of a new trend of higher education, that is blended learning, has impacts on the pedagogical practices. Yet, there are no satisfactory models in the literature that describes the link pertaining to the relationship between teaching in the context of blended learning and faculty development. Throughout the whole semester of fall 2014, we collected data, by the means of participant observations and self-confrontation interviews, on the teaching activities of one full-time lecturer, in sociology of work, and one part-time lecturer, in project management, with one undergraduate class of each lecturer in the programs of certificate at HEC Montreal. The data analysis, using the conceptual categorizations, brought about theoretical statements underpinning the dynamics of the relationships between the phenomena of blended learning and faculty development. Scientifically, our research has shed a new light on the processes of professional identity construction in faculty development, regarding the technological, sociocultural and economic changes that the University, in general, and, especially, the teaching and learning practices undergo. Our inductive approach has helped to elucidate the structure of the interactions of the two phenomena, from the point of view of the two lecturers, and to construct models of pedagogical practices rooted in their daily teachings. Therefore, socially, these models translate a grammar of thought and action, anchored in the very values of the lecturers. We took into consideration the paradigm of the actual task, versus that of the prescribed task, in terms of implementation of the pedagogical processes, so that the results of this study be meaningful to the practice. The emerging models, from our redesign of the dialogical thinking processes of the two lecturers, can be used for the training of the faculty integrating online solutions to face-face instructions.

This study investigated how institutional conditions and cultures enabled or impeded the development and implementation of academic professional development programmes in Zimbabwe State universities. The study was prompted by undervaluing of academic professional development in Zimbabwe State universities manifested by its absence in half of the institutions. Literature suggests that factors that enable or impede implementation of academic staff development programmes include irrelevant academic professional programmes and influence of departmental cultures. The critical theory paradigm guided this study because the intention was to change and transform teaching practices by gaining insights on academics‘ perspectives on conditions that influence implementation of academic staff development programmes. A qualitative study was employed where interviews, focus group discussions, documents and questionnaires were used. Two state universities were conveniently sampled from which sixteen academics, four deans, two Directors of the Teaching and Learning Centres and two Vice Chancellors were purposively selected to participate in the study. The research produced findings reflecting that disciplines have huge influence on the development and implementation of academic professional development in higher education institutions. The scholarship of research constrained the scholarship of teaching in higher education practice. It was realised that academics‘ research interests subordinate teaching interests and by implication academic professional development programmes. This influences academics to have negative attitudes towards academic professional development programmes resulting in poor uptake of the programmes. It also emerged from the findings that promotion policies favour research over teaching resulting in academics marginalising teaching in their academic roles. It also emerged clearly as well that good researchers are not necessarily good teachers and that holding a PhD does not translate an academic to be a good teacher. However, it also emerged that departmental cultures can be used to promote interdisciplinary research which academic professional development might embrace in its practice. The research experienced limitations in terms of time and threat to confidentiality but their effects were countered through control measures effected by the researcher. The study recommends that State universities should set up teaching and learning centres that will lead in the development of a culture that values teaching and learning in faculties in which academic professional development programmes will professionalize university teaching The study also recommends that academic professional development should address needs of academics for them to be relevant and that their approach should include formal courses such as Post Graduate Diploma in Higher Education in which teaching in higher education is valued / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)