Examining the relationship between faculty development opportunities and teaching practices

Abstract

Teaching is arguably the lifeblood of higher education as students enroll in higher education institutions to learn new information. Faculty often partake in developmental opportunities that seek to improve their pedagogical practices and the student experience. Seeing the importance in understanding teaching, this study uses a multi-institution data set to examine the relationship between development opportunities and faculty use of effective teaching practices and course goals. Findings indicate that informal practices including discussing teaching with colleagues, speaking with students beyond course evaluations about classroom practices, and reading pedagogy books increased use of effective teaching practices. These findings have implications for faculty developers coordinating teaching development opportunities, administrators investing funding in development, and faculty who are looking to change their practices.