1. Faculty Development Models
Team B
Pleshetta Williams, Belinda Garcia, Lynn Black and David Obiora
CUR 532
May 8, 2016
Ms. Melinda Medina

2. Introduction
Faculty development Programs (FDPs) are especially important in adapting faculty members to their changing roles in initiating and setting the directions for curricular changes. These programs can be a powerful tool to constitute a positive institutional climate and can range from basic orientation programs for new faculty members to other specific skill acquisition training for a more effective instructional delivery, (Palloff and Pratt 2011) It is a key component within a whole system necessary to assure quality online distance learning. It is the answer and a vital component to any college or university. Faculty development empowers online faculty to perform to their highest potential as it is the heart of any college or university, the better prepared they are to teach, the greater success our students will achieve.

3. Purpose
The purpose of faculty Development is to promote the professional development of all faculty members and to foster a climate for innovation in teaching and learning. Additionally, the program will work to provide resources, which will help faculty to develop as scholars, to publish, to share insights both within the community and at professional conferences, and to improve their work in the classroom. A faculty development fulfills a variety of roles at colleges, universities and institutions; as teachers whose commitment is to provide their students with expert instruction and guidance; as participants in the collegial community of the university; and as members of the community of scholars within their disciplines,(Palloff and Pratt, 2011) This presentation shares/discusses and at the same time, compares three different faculty development models which are as follows: A Phased Approach, Competency for Online Teaching Success and the Learning Community Approach.
Palloff & Pratt, (2011)

4. Goals
Faculty development has as its goal, continued renewal and growth of the university faculty in all facets of their professional lives.
Faculty Development Program Objectives Are:
To maintain and enhance faculty effectiveness.
To help faculty fulfill academic responsibilities.
To ensure satisfactory adjustments to changing environments in instruction and within disciplines.
To support faculty members in their efforts to maintain competence in their teaching fields by keeping abreast of developments in their own discipline and in disciplines related to their own.
To support research projects that contributes to the faculty member’s professional development and/or provides learning opportunities for students, consistent with the college’s mission as a teaching institution.
To keep faculty informed and to foster active discussion of developments in the scholarship of teaching and learning.
To encourage thoughtful and effective integration of educational technology into the teaching and learning process.
To support the efforts of individual faculty members to enhance their teaching and learning effectiveness.
To assist new faculty in developing productive and satisfying careers at institutions of learning.
Palloff and Pratt (2011)

5. Faculty Development Models
Phases Approach
Competency for Online Teaching Success (COTS)
Learning Community Approach
The Phased Approach model helps eliminate the one size fits all approach to faculty development and has been effective in the development of effective facilitators. The Phased Approach allows for individualization of training models based on the level of experience of the facilitator.
 (Palloff and Pratt, 2011).
A “phased approach” to faculty development to support the shifting needs of faculty as they move through the stages of Visitor (one who is contemplating teaching online) to Novice, Apprentice, Insider, and Master. The four core facets of the online faculty development experience; these areas of experience include: personal, pedagogy, content, and technology. (Palloff and Pratt, 2011)
The COTS model is used to define the necessary skills and competencies required to succeed in the online classroom to a faculty/instructor’s personalized professional development plan, (Palloff and Pratt, 2011).
It is designed to define a sequence of skill development based on the online instructors’ experience with teaching and learning online. Keeping in mind the desired end-state of competence, confidence and comfort in teaching in the online classroom.
The COTS classification is built upon a framework of readiness, that is, the novice or entry-level online instructor requires a different set of skills than the intermediate or advanced online instructor,(Williams, P. E. 2003)
A faculty learning community (FLC) is a group of faculty and professionals from various disciplines who meet over a defined period of time. The specific purpose of each FLC varies, but they all are based on the premise that the opportunity to work together in a supportive and collaborative environment contributes to successful faculty and staff development, (Palloff and Pratt, 2011).
FLCs can be topic or cohort based and subscribes to the belief that, “purpose cannot simply be training and development, but should focus on a critical exploration of teaching practice for hybrid and online teaching (Palloff and Pratt, 2011).

6. Features and Characteristics (I)
Phases Approach
Competency for Online Teaching Success (COTS)
Learning Community Approach
• Teacher as learner: This phase is considered information gathering phase in which instructors, instructors are seeking to develop needed skills to becoming effective in online facilitation.
• Teacher as adopter: This is the experimental phase in which instructors try out different instruction delivery methods. In this phase, mentors are recommended for support.
• Teacher as co-learner:
This phase shows a clear connection between technology and instructional delivery. In this phase, instructors begin to consistently and confidently utilize various effective instructional delivery methods.
Attitude/Philosophy:
The approaches,
Philosophies and orientation to the task of teaching and learning online.
Building Community: those skills that enable the construction and management of a learning community including both learners and instructor.
Classroom Management: those skills required for successful classroom management of the operational and administrative functions of the online classroom.
• Topic-based communities allow a group of faculty to explore their mutual interest in a specific area.
• Cohort-based communities focus on the unique needs of faculty and staff at a specific stage of their career or in certain roles (academic advisor, department chair, etc.).
• The learning community approach to faculty development is more structured, long-lasting, and goal-oriented than brown bag discussions, book clubs, and workshops.

7. Features and Characteristics (II)
Phases Approach
Competency for Online Teaching Success (COTS)
Learning Community Approach
• Teacher as co-learner:
 This phase shows a clear connection between technology and instructional delivery. In this phase, instructors begin to consistently and confidently utilize various effective instructional delivery methods.
• Teacher as reaffirmer or rejector: At this phase, instructors show much awareness of how instructional delivery methods can affects learning outcomes and progress.
• Faculty Workload Management: The skills and abilities of efficient time management during the online course operation for both the leaner and online instructor.
• Teaching and Learning: those skills specifically addressing the strategies and techniques of guiding and facilitating online learning.
• The facilitator’s job is to help the community meet its objectives through scheduling meetings, retreats, and other events, selecting readings and other material for discussion, and working with other campus stakeholders involved with faculty development to help assess the effectiveness of their faculty learning community.

8. Features and Characteristics (III)
Phases Approach
Competency for Online Teaching Success (COTS)
Learning Community Approach
Teacher as leader:
At this phase, instructors have acquired lots of experience, and are encourages to expand their roles to becoming leaders and training other facilitators and assisting them in developing the necessary skills to move appropriately through all phases of faculty development.
Technology Aptitude: the ability to complete the variety of skills and tasks related to the operation of the online classroom most closely related to the learning management system
Faculty learning communities are established through a process similar to group forming’s utilized with students enrolled in an online program.

9. Conclusion
With the phenomenal changes in educational and information technology, the role of a teacher has undergone dramatic changes. He/she is expected to possess skills and abilities to plan the curriculum, make rational use of the media technology, and design an assessment strategy. This is possible only through a systematic approach to faculty development, (Palloff & Pratt, 2011). It is also critical for the content of the program to be relevant to the roles and responsibilities of the faculty who participate. Several studies have demonstrated that careful needs assessment prior to conducting faculty development creates programs that are more likely to be attended, evaluated more positively, and to contain concepts and skills perceived to be transferable into the day-to-day work responsibilities of faculty.

10. References