WHICH FACULTY DEVELOPMENT METHODS REALLY WORK IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES? A REVIEW OF RESEARCH

Abstract

The rates of participation in and the effectiveness of instructional development programs in community colleges were investigated in a review of recent research literature. Most of the research was conducted with large sample surveys of faculty or program directors. Rather than theoretically derived measures of teaching and learning behaviors, the dependent variables in most studies consisted of opinions about program effectiveness. The findings indicate that, thus far, few community college teachers participate effectively in instructional development programs, that the teachers most in need of development are the least likely to participate, and that the form of most development workshops has been rated unfavorably by faculty and favorably by program directors. The most effective instructional development methods are those that respect teachers' desires to be experts in specialized disciplinary knowledge with specific teaching skills. These methods include instructional center consultants, microteaching...