An assessment of professional development for astronomy and physics faculty| Expanding our vision of how to support faculty's learning about teaching

• Main Author: Olmstead, Alice Rose
• Language: EN
• Published: University of Maryland, College Park 2016
• Subjects: Astronomy
• Online Access: http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10159152

<p> In this thesis, we will explore approaches to faculty instructional change in astronomy and physics. We primarily focus on professional development (PD) workshops, which are a central mechanism used within our community to help faculty improve their teaching. Although workshops serve a critical role for promoting more equitable instruction, we rarely assess them through careful consideration of how they engage faculty. To encourage a shift towards more reflective, research-informed PD, we developed the Real-Time Professional Development Observation Tool (R-PDOT), to document the form and focus of faculty's engagement during workshops. We then analyze video-recordings of faculty's interactions during the Physics and Astronomy New Faculty Workshop, focusing on instances where faculty might engage in pedagogical sense-making. Finally, we consider insights gained from our own local, team-based effort to improve a course sequence for astronomy majors. We conclude with recommendations for PD leaders and researchers.</p>