Browsing by Subject "Faculty Development"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Can increasing faculty professionalism raise instructional quality at a Chinese University?
    (2013-12) Lindgren, Jeffrey
    The purpose of this study was to determine if increasing faculty professionalism is a viable strategy for raising the quality of instruction at a Chinese university. In this study, increasing faculty professionalism refers to increases in regards to six areas of faculty work: academic freedom, work balance, governance, reward systems, salary, and professional development. A mixed-methods approach was used in this study. 30 faculty and 15 administrators were interviewed using a standardized open-ended approach and 27 faculty and 21 administrators responded to a questionnaire with 26 Likert-type questions. Study findings suggest that faculty and administrators at Guangdong X University agree that instructional quality needs to be raised. In addition, the findings suggest that faculty and administrators at Guangdong X University agree that increasing faculty professionalism may be an effective way to raise the quality of instruction at this university. Also, the findings suggest that this agreement between faculty and administrators at Guangdong X University may indicate an open policy window (Kingdon, 2003) for advancing the strategy of increasing faculty professionalism as a way to raise instructional quality. Finally, policy alternatives are suggested in view of Kingdon's (2003) model.
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    Developing TPACK in Practice: a multiple case study of higher education instructors
    (2018-10) Andzenge, Senenge
    Engaging instructors with technology remains a problem in higher education (Westberry, McNaughton, Billot, & Gaeta, 2015). For many instructors, competency with new tools and practices remains a barrier to using technologies in their teaching (Buchanan, Sainter, & Saunders, 2013; Georgina & Hosford, 2009; Georgina & Olson, 2008; Kopcha, 2010, 2012; Roblyer & Doering, 2013). Developing competencies in teaching with technology can change or transform instructor’s thinking about themselves and their approach to teaching (Baran, Correia, & Thompson, 2011; Redmond, 2011). While professional development in higher education can offer instructors opportunities to develop knowledge and competencies that may enhance their practice (Lowenthal, 2008; Desimone, et. al 2002), many professional development experiences around technology either don’t allow learners to be self-driven, or place more emphasis on the technology than on concerns for pedagogy (Barber, 2011). This dissertation is a multiple case-study of higher education instructors addressing the following research questions: RQ1 How do instructors describe their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)? RQ2 How do professional development activities support instructor’s technological pedagogical content knowledge development? Using qualitative methods, data were collected from questionnaires, interviews, digital artifacts, and field notes and analyzed to offer perspectives of instructors describing their TPACK and how professional development activities support their knowledge development. Each instructor’s TPACK story traces through their beginnings teaching with technology, ways they have come to integrate technology and pedagogy through developing their practice, factors that motivated and drove them to pursue professional development opportunities which help them integrate technology and pedagogy, and tensions which continue to challenge them and their integration of technology and pedagogy. Findings from this research provide insights that can inform the implementation of faculty professional development programs and activities, support technology integration, and be an encouragement to instructors in similar higher education contexts.