E+Professional+Development

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR FACULTY

Technology has driven many changes in the past decades. We have moved from a "product economy" to a "knowledge economy", an "information society". Knowledge (and information) //is// the new product, the technologies our new tool to manipulate it. The labour force now has to have the skills that enable them to search for and select relevant information, interpret and analyze it, use it to solve problems either on their own or in distributed, multi-cultural teams and from this also to create new information Throughout the history of the world change has occurred, what may be different now is the rapidity with which it is occurring, how it is crossing physical borders and the new mental processes it requires of us to deal with it. This has ramifications for every person in the transformed society. They are required to continuously respond to these rapidly changing circumstances by acquiring new skills throughout their lifetime. We are all to become "life-long learners". Educational Institutions have the task of producing this new labour force and can only achieve this by incorporating these new skills and technologies into their curriculum and in their own practices. They have to teach others and at the same time teach themselves. They have to support their students through the process of change and at the same time support themselves through the same changes. They have to becoming learning organizations in their own right.

The implementation of the LMS has brought to this University the new technology and all the //potential// and //necessity// of transformation it brings with it, but how to bring this about requires a new approach. The Professional Development program is a means, not only to realizing this potential but also to support the transformation. The University, by transforming itself - its people, its processes, its culture - how they handle information, work in teams, solve problems, create new artifacts – will transform how and what it teaches.

A top-down approach that says, "Adopt the technology, change the teaching, learn differently " does not show an understanding of the transformations in teaching and learning that have occurred. The new learning that is required is difficult to formulate because the University, the Faculty Members and the Students are required to learn something that is not there yet. They have to learn as it is being created. There is no one teacher that can step in and teach an identifiable, stable skill.


 * Establishing Communities of Practice**
 * Who are the subjects of learning and What do they learn?**

Communities of practice (also known as workteams or work groups) could be established. They are groups that work together and form functional systems to work on the shared activity of change to their practices and their curriculum. They comprise a group of people from the faculty, and possibly other departments, who have a shared goal. Each person will bring to the community a different point of view, traditions and interests, they will also have different roles within the group. These differences could be a source of trouble but also a source of innovation as they will requires acts of translating and negotiating between the participants. The group has to adopt a new element – the Moodle LMS. This causes a contradiction between the previous methods of teaching and the way the curriculum was developed to how they need to be done now. Working as a group they need to find innovative ways to change their activities and so decrease the contradiction.

As more of these communities of practise produce more, the combination is a result that is great than the some of the parts. The University itself is transformed into a learning organization.

A practical example from Virginia Tech's Faculty illustrates how these communities of practice can be formed and how they can function.

The development team did not concentrate on the technology itself but rather on the teaching and learning that occurs //with// the technology. They used a problem-based approach to training that combined a focus on instructional practice and collaborative learning. Small groups, with an instructor, prepared lessons using the technology. This enabled the latter to be learnt whilst being able to cover any teaching issues that surfaced. These were not one-shot workshops, instead a number of them were held as part of the development program. This approach was followed by a number of best-practise institutions. Faculty development was orientated to particular teaching issues and the design concepts emerged in response, rather than being imposed. Through this process of creating instructional software in a team, faculty members rethought their teaching and learning processes.

The possible effectiveness of this approach is further demonstrated by a quote from a case study of an ICT implementation that did not support their Faculty members in this way (Kidd 2010).

“ In short, faculty have a difficult time applying technology skills in the classroom unless there is a direct linkage with the curriculum, teaching strategies, or improvements in achievement. Professional development tends to have a stronger impact when it is framed and intertwined in the teaching and learning process associate with the faculty. This is when training comes into play — to show faculty the possibilities of what can be done. This process has not only helped me become a better faculty, but an optimal user of technology. ”


 * Helping them to Learn**
 * Why and How do they Learn?**

Expansive Learning is learning that encompasses a deep change in beliefs and attitudes and subsequent actions.

Figure 1 Expansive Learning (Engestrom 2001)

The existing standard practices need to be critically questioned in order to instill in the participants deeper analysis of their beliefs and attitudes that will lead to change. If management tries to insist on fixed learning assignments traditionaly they are typically rejected.

One way to affect the Teacher's beliefs and attitudes is by showing teachers evidence of the gains in Student Learning Outcomes. They believe in the new practices because they have seen them work and will thus be more committed to continue with the new practices. The object of teaching is student learning, this is what gives continuity and coherence to the actions and scripts teachers follow.



Figure 2. A Model of Teacher Change (Guskey 2002) . New solutions, instrumentality, patterns of activity can be modeled. Modelling can come either from examples from other groups or from within the group as they produce possible solutions.

As solutions emerge they are examined, implemented reflected on and this reiterative process accompanies the group as they hone in on a solution that will fit with their objective. Once final solutions are put into practice the process starts again as new needs arise.


 * Leadership behind the PD program.**

Leadership and organizational support are vital for implementing change. Successful PD programs have a vision of the long-term goals but a strategic plan to introduce change gradually and incrementally, building on what is successful (Guskey 1995) and in which the use of technology has a prominent role (Bates 2000). Organizational commitment includes allocating sufficient funds to support the program and offering support in a variety of ways (Bates 2000).

The PD team needs to have a varied range of competencies such as: o Technical expertise relating to the new technology. In our example: § Instructional design § Web development § Moodle technical expertise o Knowledge of Curriculum and innovative Pedagogies o Training and change management expertise o Evaluation

By using a problem-based approach with a number of practical workshops the PD of the faculty becomes a process rather than an event (Guskey 2002) (Trowler 2003). This supports changes in teaching practise throughout the implementation process, provides just-in-time training (Chao 2008) that also has a practical product – actual lesson plans which respects the time constraints and overload of teachers

“ When we first embarked on using Blackboard, I felt overwhelmed, discouraged, and bewilder at the attempts to use technology tools in the classroom. There was little to no support from administration. There were no extra funds for training or professional consulting. Administration purchased the tools, but soon after where back in the shadows from which they came, leaving us as faculty who are in the trenches to suffer. ” All we received was a memo stating we are now implementing a new LMS to be used to support face to face and online teaching. “ There was no reason as to why we were moving in this director or what avenues were available to support faculty who were remotely interested. All of our concerns feel on deaf ears. ”

The University at the Department Level, as well as the PD team itself, need to be aware that although PD is essential, it alone will not be sufficient to ensure the support for and adoption of the new technology (Bates 2000).. Having knowledge of the change process, where each faculty member is along this continuum and being sensitive to how their reactions are justified can add strength to the PD program and the support it offers.

References

Argyris, C. and D. A. Schon (1996). __Organizational learning ii: Theory, method and practise__. Reading, Addison-Wesley.

Bates, T. (2000). Supporting Faculty. __Managing technological change: strategies for college and university leaders.__ San Fransisco, Jossey-Bass Inc.

Chao, I. T. (2008). "Moving to Moodle: Reflections Two Years Later." __Educause Quarterly__ **3** : 46-52.

Engeström, Y. (2001). "Expansive Learning at Work: toward an activity theoretical reconceptualization." __Journal of Education and Work__ **14** (1): 133-156.

Fullan, M. (2001). The new meaning of educational change (3rd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.

Guskey, T. R. (1995). Professional Development in Education. In search of the Optimal Mix. __Professional development in education: new paradigms and practices__. T. R. Guskey and M. Huberman. New York, Teachers College Press**:** 114-131.

Guskey, T. R. (2002). "Professional Development and Teacher Change." __Teachers and Learning__ **8** (3): 381-391.

Kidd, T. T. (2010). "Butterfly under a pin: Exlporing the voices and stories told of a faculty who adopt ICT's for teaching and learning practices." __Educ Inf Technol__ **15** : 155-170.