A multi-institutional study of teaching development opportunities and faculty practice

Abstract

Research on faculty teaching development is robust, with small-scale research studies on specific teaching development experiences or practices in particular fields. To contextualize the myriad of teaching development efforts available to faculty, this large-scale multi-institution study of nearly 4,500 faculty seeks to broaden our understandings of who participates in teaching development practices, how their participation relates to their institutional environments, and how their participation connects to use of effective teaching practices. Results show there are some notable trends by field, identity, the type of courses taught, and institutional characteristics. The overview of professional development participation in this study gives strength to positive findings from smaller-scale research studies and provides a solid base for more specific studies of these practices.