Faculty Development Programs

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Report of the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities
Adventure of the American Mind Fall Conference - November 2003
Prepared by Lisa Tolbert

“…workshops are too often mind-numbing feel-good sessions conceived by administrators that aim at boosting campus morale.” – participating faculty member

The challenge to create a viable model of instruction for higher education faculty to incorporate the use of digitized primary sources available at the Library of Congress American Memory web site was accepted with an overwhelming clamor of interest and enthusiasm at the November 7th and 8th, 2003 fall conference. A diverse group of well-credentialed representatives from the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities in collaboration with National Louis University, Bradley University, Dominican University, Greenville College, and McKendree College came together to devise a faculty development process to educate colleagues on using the American Memory web site in their courses.

The objectives of this initial conference were to orient faculty representatives to each other as well as the project, including the American Memory, Library of Congress, and the Adventure of the American Mind web sites. There was also a need to identify the areas of expertise of participating faculty members and to assess their strengths and weaknesses in the fields of technology integration, primary sources and content knowledge, and course development. A third concern was to develop strategies to encourage a long-term commitment to the AAM project in higher education faculty. In addition, project guidelines and a project schedule were developed. Lastly, the parameters of the web site design and use were established to incorporate the site as a means of communication as well as a method for the exchange of ideas. In all these areas, consensus decision-making helped build community and ownership of the project.

Though all of the initial objectives were met at this conference, as anticipated, there were differing opinions regarding the methods of approaching faculty development. Each institution has its own unique approach when it comes to faculty educational programs. As a result, many questions remain. What are the forces that generate change within the faculty community and how they can be harnessed for this project? Are there any common characteristics that can be identified among all the participating institutions in their proposed course of learning that can be considered in structuring a method to implement programs on a grand scale?

There is no question that there is a growing demand for the professional development of all faculty members to meet the advancement of instructional and classroom technology. However, due to the differing ability levels in technological competence, what are the implications of technology background knowledge deficiencies? What additional considerations are needed to address those individuals who have a hesitance toward technological proficiency? Moreover, is it appropriate to distinguish unique categories of the higher level faculty population? New faculty, mid-career faculty and senior faculty members have differing professional objectives and will be more receptive to differing developmental programs. Are there any commonalities in terms of continuing educational needs?

Reflecting current trends in faculty development, the conference stressed the idea of “ownership”. Participants observed that programs should never be foisted upon faculty and that faculty must be involved significantly in all levels of development. They must perceive a need to change before they will commit themselves to participating in a faculty development area. Faculty members must feel empowered and see the program as a viable asset in their teaching curriculum. The issue for most faculty is not resistance to change or lack of understanding of the necessity for change, but the format and execution of the faculty development requirement. The conference reflected these ideas by adopting a colloquium format that facilitated building community and instilling ownership around participation. It set the stage for the next project phase; developing draft proposals for faculty development at each institution.

An Adventure of the American Mind is made available through a Library of Congress grant funded by the U.S. Congress. AAM is administered through the Education and Research Consortium of the Western Carolinas Inc.
For site-related problems, e-mail aam@ercwc.org..