Sustaining the Change: What Happens When Transformed Courses Change Instructors

• In Event: Faculty Development in Response to Diversity, Transitions, and Opportunities

Abstract

Once faculty transform courses from lectures to active learning experiences, what happens to the investment of time and resources when they transition from teaching that course? While writings on course transformations have grown over 25+ years, this question is new. We interviewed 13 instructors who handed off and received courses. In our sample, we found transformations were only sustained when courses were handed off to non-faculty instructors. When faculty handed off a course to another faculty member, they were likely to invoke academic freedom as the reason for not keeping changes. We discovered that departmental buy-in aids in sustaining course transformations. We close with recommendations for teaching and learning centers, drawn from our data, to encourage more sustained transformations.

Authors

• Jennifer D. Moss, Emporia State University

• Nastasha Johnson, Purdue University