What We Say Is Not What We Do: Effective Evaluation of Faculty Professional Development Programs

Professional development (PD) workshops designed to help faculty move from teacherto learner-centered science courses for undergraduates are typically evaluated with self-reported surveys that address faculty’s satisfaction with a workshop, what they learned, and what they applied in the classroom. Professional development outcomes are seldom evaluated through analysis of observed teaching practices. We analyzed videotapes of biology faculty teaching following PD to address three questions: (1) How learner centered was their teaching? (2) Did self-reported data about faculty teaching differ from the data from independent observers? (3) What variables predict teaching practices by faculty? Following PD, 89% of the respondents stated that they made changes in their courses that included active, learner-centered instruction. In contrast, observational data showed that participation in PD did not result in learner-centered teaching. The majority of faculty (75%) used lecture-based, teacher-centered pedagogy, showing a clear disconnect between faculty’s perceptions of their teaching and their actual practices.