Dissertation: Faculty Development Characteristics

Emily Ann Dennis
Robert Morris University

Dear Faculty Member:

My name is Emily Dennis and I am a doctoral student at Robert Morris University near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I am collecting data in order to complete dissertation research at Robert Morris University. As a doctoral student, I have become very interested in the area of faculty development. The purpose of this study is to examine faculty development characteristics that faculty members perceive to be the most beneficial for improving teaching and learning to develop a much needed model that highlights specific characteristics of faculty development designs that are targeted at formulating effective pedagogical enhancements. This model can assist faculty development program developers to identify gaps that are essential to effective professional development practices in higher education. Additionally, higher education institutions can use this model to design a faculty development program if one does not currently exist in the institution.

I have received permission to conduct this study from Dr. E. Gregory Holdan, Dissertation Chair, Dr. Fan-Yu Lin, Dissertation Committee Member, and Dr. George Semich, Instructional Management Leadership Doctoral Program Director and Dissertation Committee Member.

My dissertation title is, “A Descriptive Analysis of the Perceived Effectiveness of Innovative and Systematic Characteristics of Faculty Development Programs in Higher Education: A National Perspective” and I have received permission from Robert Morris University’s Internal Review Board (IRB). The approval code (reference number) for this study is: 2014101123.

Please be assured that the answers to the surveys will be kept confidential and will take approximately five minutes to complete. The surveys will be coded to assist in the data analysis phase. At no point in this study will individual names be used and at no point will your answers be revealed to any person. If you are interested in the results of this study, I will be glad to send you a summary.

I hope that the results of this research will be helpful in enhancing the quality of future faculty development activities in which you and other educators participate. The results will be used to develop a model for designing effective faculty development programs for higher education institutions. Your cooperation and participation in this research will be greatly appreciated. If you have any questions about this dissertation, please feel free to contact me at (724)-984-7230 or [email protected].

Sincerely,
Emily Ann Dennis
Doctoral Candidate

Participant Demographics Directions:

(1) Select the answers that apply to you.

* What is the current institution in which you are teaching?

* How many years have you been teaching at your current institution?

* What is your highest level of education?

Certificate or Diploma

Associate

Bachelor’s

Master’s

Master’s and working on Doctorate

Certificate in Advanced Graduate Studies or Education Specialist

Doctorate

* Select the “Faculty Member Rank” that applies to you:

Participating In Faculty Development Programs

Directions:

(1) Please indicate whether or not you have participated in a faculty development program at your current institution that highlighted the specific characteristic listed by selecting yes or no for each characteristic.

(2) For each characteristic in which you have you received instruction and selected “yes”, rate how effectively you believe the characteristic impacted your teaching and learning abilities. Select your answer (from 1-4, see scale below) under the “Effectiveness” column. If you select “No”, continue to the next characteristic and do not select an answer under the “Effectiveness” column.

Use the following scale for part (2):

1 Not Effective    (did not have the intended effect or impact)
2   Somewhat Effective   (had little or minimal effect or impact)
3   Effective    (had an effect or impact)
4 Very Effective    (had substantial or significant effect or impact)

(3) Identify if you believe the characteristic listed has been implemented or impacted your classroom teaching and learning practices.

Definition of Categories

Content - Refers to the overarching concepts that any faculty member can learn to assist in providing the best educational opportunities available to their students.

Practices - Refer to the specific skills that an effective faculty member should possess and model for students.

Processes - Actions that faculty should display that encourage visions of lifelong learning.

Curriculum and Instruction - Applies to the generalized concepts or strategies that are foundational to any faculty development program.