A case study of university faculty development utilizing technology: People, place and process

Abstract

The purpose of this case study is to describe the faculty development workshop experiences of the participants and facilitators of the Laptop Workshop, a workshop designed to support the reform of undergraduate teaching and learning at a Research I institution in the Southwest. In this case study, I utilize a qualitative research paradigm and take an interpretative approach. The research study includes in-depth interviews with the workshop's designers and facilitators, beginning and ending workshop surveys administered to the participants in three 2001 workshops, an online questionnaire administered to 150 of 165 participants, a field study of one faculty participant, and interviews with seven faculty participants. This study was nested in four timely areas of scholarly research, namely post-secondary faculty development, technology-centered faculty development, the diffusion of innovations, and educational reform. Through the research questions, I sought to understand the workshop from the perspectives of the facilitators and faculty participants. Their perceptions illuminated the ways in which this instructional intervention impacted their behaviors and beliefs about integrating technology tools and teaching strategies in their courses. The qualitative data reported and analyzed in this study are shared in the form of profiles and vignettes constructed from the study participants' own words. This faculty development initiative contributed to the success of another educational reform effort on this campus. It effectively addressed the participants' learning needs and helped to diffuse technology-enabled teaching methodologies. The findings suggest a unique convergence of people, place and process created an effective learning environment that supported 21st-century university faculty development.