Investigating faculty technology mentoring as a university-wide professional development model

Abstract

A growing and increasingly important area of research in higher education is the investigation of how different forms of support and training programs facilitate faculty adoption of technology into pedagogical practices. This study explored the implementation of a faculty technology mentoring (FTM) program as a university-wide professional development model, focusing on the success factors and critical strategies that encourage technology adoption in faculty teaching practices. The goal of this effort is to provide evidence-based discussion on an FTM model tailored to faculty members’ needs in a university context. Participants included 12 faculty members (mentees) and 12 graduate students (mentors), paired throughout the FTM program. Analysis of mentors’ weekly blog posts, case reports, and interviews with faculty members revealed six critical strategies: determining needs; exploring technologies’ affordances and limitations; scaffolding; sharing feedback; connecting technology, pedagogy, and content; and evaluating. Success factors included motivation, meeting challenges, the nature of mentoring relationships, communication channels, and support. The results point to key recommendations for higher education institutions that plan to implement similar mentoring programs in order to support technology integration into faculty members’ teaching practices.