Connecting Faculty Development and Student Outcomes: Evidence from Faculty Professional Development in Two Community Colleges

ABSTRACTHigher education institutions commonly provide faculty professional development (PD) in teaching and learning, with the goal of enhancing student outcomes by improving instructional quality. Yet few existing studies link PD participation with student outcome measures. Empirical evidence on the impact of PD on student performance in higher education, particularly in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education is limited. Using institutional data from a large state university in California, we address this gap by estimating the impact of two online PD programs on student performance: an asynchronous program about developing online courses, open to faculty from all disciplines; and a synchronous program designed exclusively for STEM faculty, concentrating on STEM‐specific challenges and active learning strategies in online instruction. Using a difference‐in‐difference approach, our results indicate that both PD programs improved student grades, while only the STEM‐specific PD improved DFW rates and addressed equity gaps. To explain the difference in results between the two PD programs, we invoke a theoretical model positing that to improve student outcomes, faculty PD must teach strategies known to improve student performance, it must teach that content in ways known to improve faculty learning, and it must support faculty as they implement new strategies.

In this study, we introduce an analytic framework for effective professional development programmes (PDPs) that has been synthesised and derived from the literature. The framework acknowledges that certain design features concerning how to process the content as well as the methods to facilitate teachers’ enactment are important but also complementary for effective professional development (PD). The framework is furthermore empirically validated through the analysis of how a group of primary school teachers realise an intended PD module and how its components influence the teachers’ competence development. The PD module explored is from the Norwegian PDP Maths and Science Trails (MaST), which aims to enhance teachers’ ability to teach in a way that facilitate students’ deep learning. The results provide insight to how the different design features and methods in the PD module can influence the teachers’ competence development and, hence, how the PD module can be revised and improved. Furthermore, the results demonstrate the framework’s utility and validate it as analytic framework that can be used as a tool for designers of PDPs to makes these programmes more effective in improving teachers’ competence development.

This study explores the need for transforming professional development for English teachers. Similarly, it focuses on the overview of traditional professional development methods and proposes alternative approaches, such as personalized learning and collaborative communities of practice. In addition, the article highlights the importance of aligning professional development with the evolving demands of the English language curriculum and the challenges posed by digital technologies. The study explores the necessity of adapting English teacher professional development programs to changing educational conditions through thematic-based content analysis of the research found in Google Scholar and Eric databases. Furthermore, related papers and litmaps were used to analyze the authorship and coverage of the study. Recent research from the ERIC and Google Scholar databases strengthens the need for ongoing, workplace-based, and personalized professional development programs that are connected with the evolving demands of the English language curriculum and digital technology. The findings of this study, thus, reinforce the need for transformative professional development programs that are aligned with the changing demands of the English curriculum and digital technology and prioritize the individualized learning needs of instructors. The research underlines the necessity for English teachers to adjust their professional development practices to meet the ever-evolving requirements imposed by the English curriculum. The results suggest that professional development strategies should be adapted to meet the changing educational circumstances. Overall, the study offers guidelines for the design and implementation of transformative professional development programs that improve teacher learning and student outcomes.

This research article investigates the design of professional development programs for community college lecturers in Nepal that meet their needs and increase their motivation. Using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg's Dual-Factor theory, the study aims to identify the hygiene factors and motivators that influence lecturer motivation to participate in professional development opportunities, assess their level of motivation, and provide recommendations for effective program design. The research objectives are to identify strategies for designing professional development programs that address both hygiene factors and motivators influencing lecturer motivation and to improve the quality of education. Data from 125 full-time and part-time faculty members from 15 community campuses in specific regions of Nepal were collected. The study provides valuable insights into the factors that impact the professional development and motivation of community college lecturers. By addressing their needs, institutions can create a positive learning environment and better meet the needs of a diverse student population. The article concludes that the study's findings can inform policy decisions related to professional development opportunities for community college lecturers in Nepal and other similar contexts, providing a framework for designing and implementing effective professional development programs worldwide. The study has some limitations in sample size and representativeness, but it provides a starting point for further research in this area. Overall, this research article emphasizes the importance of addressing the needs of community college lecturers in Nepal and similar contexts to improve the quality of education and empower low-income individuals.

With increasing emphasis on accountability in higher education, the value of faculty professional development continues to gain traction across campuses. Prompted by growing accreditation, assessment, and accountability measures, higher education institutions must provide evidence of faculty compliance with requirements that are tied to professional development. This is as true for community colleges as well as for four-year institutions. External and internal pressures for continuous improvement in teaching necessitates institutional commitment to understanding faculty perceptions and acceptance of high-quality professional development. Community colleges need to gain faculty acceptance of and participation in professional development in order to achieve fidelity to institutional instructional goals and initiatives. This chapter investigates community college faculty buy-in and support for professional development and considers cogent and relevant literature related to faculty professional development within the contemporary American community college setting.

With knowledge in hand that teaching mathematics through active engagement leads to better learning outcomes for students, the field of mathematics is now tasked with researching effective facilitation of professional development for faculty. Our university embarked on an initial year of active learning professional development for mathematics faculty, implementing and researching a variety of professional development formats. We conjectured that effective faculty professional development, like effective mathematics instruction of students, would engage faculty in active learning experiences. Initial results indicate that effective professional development for faculty is tightly aligned with effective classroom instruction of students. This paper provides a framework of professional development practices for faculty, informed by a subset of mathematics instructional practices.

This paper describes a summit on Community Colleges in the Evolving STEM Education Landscape organized by a committee of the National Research Council (NRC) and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and held at the Carnegie Institution for Science on December 15, 2011. This summit followed a similar event organized by Dr. Jill Biden, spouse of the Vice President, and held at the White House in October 2010, which sought to bring national attention to the changing missions and purposes of community colleges in contemporary American society.1 The NRC/NAE event built on the White House summit, while focusing on the changing roles of community colleges in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. An in-depth summary of the summit was prepared by the NRC and NAE for publication in late Spring 2012 by the National Academies Press (NRC and National Academy of Engineering, 2012 ). This paper provides a synopsis of that report, which is available at www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13399, and emphasizes how we can use the report to improve STEM education for our students, but also how much progress still needs to be made to realize this ideal.

Professional development (PD) programmes take a wide variety of forms. Lloyd and Davis (2018) present a model to map the diversity of PD programmes based on the extent to which intrinsic control of learning was afforded to the teachers by the PD. In this study, Lloyd and Davis’s model was applied to map two different PD programmes. Both programmes aimed to achieve similar outcomes, they ran over a similar timeframe of 2 years, and both were targeted at early career teachers (ECTs). Yet, despite these similarities, the ECTs mapped the programmes differently onto the model, and the extent to which the programme outcomes were achieved also varied. The degree to which ECTs considered that the PD afforded them a sense of control and an influence over the direction of their learning was found to be associated with the extent to which the intended programme outcomes were met. Building in an optimal balance of autonomy supportive opportunities into PD programmes is likely to be an important feature of their success.

Professional development is one of the most efficient means for improving teacher performance and student outcomes. While research has identified several key attributes of effective professional development, there remains a discrepancy between what such positive qualities and actual implementation. At the same time, most professional development targets the improvement of student learning outcomes as measured by performance on standardized tests by attempting to improve teacher content knowledge and pedagogy. Little attention within the realm of professional development is paid to teacher-student relationships and the effect such relationships can have on improving student learning outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this descriptive case study was to explore the perceptions and attitudes of teachers in an urban elementary setting toward school-specific professional development and their influence on student learning outcomes. Using Guskey's Alternative model of professional development and teacher change this study sought to answer the following central research question: How do teachers at Grace Elementary School perceive the professional development they receive as it relates to improving their teaching practice? Guskey's Alternative model of professional development and teacher change suggests that in order for professional development to effective in changing teachers' beliefs and attitudes, teachers must first see a change in student outcomes following the successful implementation of what was learned in PD. This case study found: (1) variance in how professional development is defined, (2) professional development = opportunity, (3) professional development = teacher growth, (4) teachers desire holistic improvement in their students, (5) teachers desire student growth over proficiency, (6) teachers perceive their relationship with students in terms of love, (7) teachers desire to strengthen their relationship with students, (8) teachers perceive mandatory professional development as too broad, (9) teachers perceive mandatory professional development as too repetitive, (10) teachers perceive self-selected professional development as better aligned to their goals and more timely, (11) greater choice in self-selected professional development leads to greater teacher satisfaction, and (12) self-selected professional development offers teachers more opportunities for quality collaboration. From these findings this study concluded that professional development needs to offer more choices that better align with teacher needs and is most effective when it stresses high-quality collaboration. Additionally, this study also found that more professional development teacher-leader opportunities need to be offered and more explicit professional development needs to be offered on strengthening teacher-student relationships.

Purpose: The persistent academic underperformance in public secondary schools in Kenyan rural areas has raised concerns among educators, policymakers, and local communities. The purpose of the study is to evaluate how teacher professional training and development influence academic performance. One of the key factors believed to have contributed to this challenge is the lack of sufficient and effective professional training and development programs for teachers. There is a growing need to examine how teachers' professional training and development influence students' academic outcomes. The problem this study seeks to address is the unclear and under-researched relationship between teachers' professional development and students' academic performance in Ndhiwa Sub-County. Methodology: The study used descriptive research design and 15 public secondary schools, 113 teachers and 522 students were involved in the study as study respondents. The study used document analysis and semi structured questionnaires to collect the quantitative data, which was analyzed through descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages). Findings: The study reveals that teachers' professional training and development have a significant impact on students' academic performance in public secondary schools in Ndhiwa Sub-County. The findings also indicated that teachers who undergo continuous professional development are better equipped with modern teaching strategies, content knowledge, and student engagement techniques, which in turn positively influence students' academic outcomes. Teachers with higher levels of training and access to ongoing professional development demonstrate improved classroom management, increased use of learner-centered methodologies, and more effective assessment technique. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: From the study findings, the study recommends that schools and educational authorities should develop more structured and regular Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programs that focus on subject-specific training, pedagogical skills, and updated teaching methodologies. This is because the study findings likely indicate that teachers who engage in regular training and development show better performance in student outcomes. The education policy makers should come up with the programs that forge partnerships between secondary schools and local universities or teacher training colleges to provide advanced training opportunities and access to educational research.

Differentiated instruction is a key indicator of effective teaching, but difficult to implement. Thus, educators have called for professional development (PD) programs on the topic. Based on 27 selected studies, this meta-analysis examined the overall effectiveness of PD programs in terms of teacher and student outcomes, and assessed theoretically relevant PD program features as moderators. Our findings indicated that PD programs have a medium effect on teachers’ knowledge, attitudes and practices. Furthermore, teachers improved more in their differentiation practices if a PD program was provided within a specific subject domain. As PD programs had no significant effect on students’ learning, the relation between teacher development and student learning requires further scrutiny so that students will benefit from their teachers’ learning.

This study explored a professional development (PD) program preparing mathematics coordinators to lead effective PD in their schools. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic emerging in the midst of this study, the PD program and school team PD were performed online instead of face-to-face. We explored the PD program and school team PD design before and during COVID-19 period, and the coordinators' expertise-based PD leadership professional identity (LPI). Findings revealed structural stability of the PD program design, and support of coordinators’ LPI. Coordinators enacted a structural transition of effective PD design into the school team PD, demonstrating their LPI in practice.

Teaching-focused professional development (PD) programs offered at institutions of higher education (IHEs) are uniquely positioned to be levers of change that improve the quality of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in ways that broaden participation in STEM education, workforce development, and career pathways in the United States (US). PD programs and their potential to transform undergraduate STEM education, however, are understudied. This multiple-case study compares suites of PD programs offered at three IHEs in the US: a community college, an emerging research institution, and a research-intensive university. Each suite of PD programs is characterized in terms of program structure, implementation, and potential to transform undergraduate STEM education. The presented results illustrate the existence of a wide range of ways in which PD programs are structured and implemented. A key finding is a suite of PD programs offered at these IHEs has greater potential to transform undergraduate STEM education when embedded in an institutional culture that highly prioritizes the teaching enterprise. Lastly, the results are synthesized into an innovative framework. The framework can be used as a tool to design, implement, and evaluate PD programs so they have greater potential to transform undergraduate STEM education in the US.

Each year, community colleges, schools, and community organizations offer basic skills instruction to more than 2.5 million adults with limited skills and education. Such programs include Adult Basic Education (ABE) and GED preparation programs for individuals who do not have a high school credential and English-as-a-SecondLanguage (ESL) programs for persons with limited proficiency in English. Yet few of these students advance successfully to college-level education and training, even when they attend a basic skills program offered by a community college. Not doing so limits the potential of these individuals to secure jobs that pay family-supporting wages and that offer opportunities for career advancement. Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training, or I-BEST, is an innovative program created to address this problem. First piloted in 2004-05, I-BEST was developed by the community and technical colleges in Washington State to increase the rate at which adult basic skills students enter and succeed in postsecondary occupational education and training. Under the I-BEST model, basic skills instructors and career-technical faculty jointly design and teach collegelevel occupational, or what in Washington State are called “workforce,” courses for adult basic skills students. Instruction in basic skills is thereby integrated with instruction in college-level career-technical skills. This model challenges the conventional notion that basic skills instruction should be completed by students prior to starting college-level courses. The approach thus offers the potential to accelerate the transition of adult basic skills students into college programs. This Brief, which summarizes a longer paper, presents findings from a CCRC study that investigated the outcomes of students who participated in the program. The study compared, over a two-year tracking period, the educational outcomes of I-BEST students with those of other basic skills students, including students who comprised a particularly apt comparison group — those non-I-BEST basic skills students who nonetheless enrolled in at least one workforce course in academic year 2006-07, the period of enrollment examined in the study. The analyses controlled for observed differences in background characteristics and enrollment patterns of students in the sample. We examined data on more than 31,000 basic skills students in Washington State, including nearly 900 I-BEST participants.

Continuous professional development is essential for upgrading and updating teachers because the rate of social and educational change makes pre-service training an inadequate basis for long term professional competence. The design of these continuous professional development programmes must be informed by an effective needs analysis that culminates from the teachers’ knowledge bases of curricula, instructional, content and pedagogical knowledge. The knowledge bases are conceptual frameworks upon which professional development should be based. Research shows that teachers perform better in professional development programmes whose design they are part of. This article is a literature review of professional development programmes for teachers in relation to teacher knowledge bases in South Africa. It articulates how high quality professional development programmes can be designed, implemented and evaluated, as well as the causes of failure and dissatisfaction associated with these programmes. It highlights strategies that teachers, subject specialists and curriculum developers can use to design professional development programmes that they can conduct in schools or externally to enhance high learning outcomes.