PROCEEDINGS OF THE 15TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION (Vol 2)
2012
Portland, Oregon
Role of Faculty Professional Development in Improving Undergraduate Mathematics Education: The Case of IBL Workshops
Page: 2-80
Professional development opportunities might provide the tools that faculty need to transition from lecture to the research-based student-centered instructional methods. With data from two offerings of faculty professional development workshop aimed at educating faculty in the use of Inquiry Based Learning (IBL) instructional techniques, we examine what changes in the instructional practices can—or cannot—be accomplished through the means of professional development workshops. Faculty participants report strong immediate benefits in the form of increased knowledge, skills, and motivation to use student-centered instructional methods. The long term outcomes are also very encouraging. The vast majority of respondents to the follow-up survey report that they had implemented IBL techniques to some degree and about half of these achieved full implementation. This self-reported implementation rate is even more encouraging, given considerable changes in practice indicated by respondents on the follow-up survey and corroborated in the interviews. The shifts in practice indicate that workshops have an impact not only on participants’ learning, but also on their application of methods learned.