Conducting Research on Faculty Development

David M. Irby, PhD

Patricia S. O’Sullivan, EdD

University of California San Francisco

April 5 2018

O’Sullivan, P.S. & Irby, D.M. Promoting scholarship in faculty development: relevant research paradigms and methodologies. In Steinert, Y (ed) Faculty Development in the Health Professions, Springer: New York, 2014.

Disclosures & Expectations

• No conflicts of interest to disclosure

• Preview• Overview of the literature

• Model for Research in Faculty Development

• Research Paradigms and Research on Faculty Development

• Studies we would love to do

PubMed Search on “Faculty Development”

Best Evidence in Med Ed Faculty Development

• Programs produce• High participant satisfaction; positive attitudes; knowledge and skill gains;

use of new pedagogies, student learning, collegial networks, and new leadership positions

• Key features of successful programs• Longitudinal, educational project, community building, relevant content,

experiential learning, feedback and reflection, institutional support

• Future research• Move from individual to organizational, from classroom to workplace

• Need more rigorous designs and mixed methods research

Steinert et al. A systematic review of faculty development …. Med Teach. 28 (6): 497-526, 2006.; Steinert et al. A

10 Year Update. Med Teach. 38:8, 769-786, 2016.

Rethinking Med Ed Professional Development

• Recognize changing metaphors for learning• From acquisition/transfer to participation/co-construction

• From focus on individual to groups participing as teams

• Utilize principles of CPD and quality improvement• Offer variety of short and long term educational interventions

• Ground it in workplace and integrate into health care system

• Orient to and guide with patient care outcome data

• Make it team-based, QI oriented, and engage all stakeholders

Sargent J, Wong BM, Campbell CM. CPD of the future: a partnership between quality improvement and competency-based education. Med Educ. 52(2):1-11, 2017; Boud D, Hager P. Rethinking CPD through changing metaphors and location in professional practice. Studies in Cont Educ. 34(1):17-30, 2012.

Best evidence in Higher Education

• Teacher professional development programs• Offer voluntary rather than mandatory participation

• Create learning communities with specific participation strategies

• Provide longer and more intense learning opportunities

• Offer coaches who collaborate with teachers

• Future research• Examine how programs motivate, intellectually engage & offer meaning

• Study teachers’ resistance & resentment toward program demands

• Focus on providers, their expertise, preparation and effectiveness

Kennedy MM. How Does Professional Development Improve Teaching? Rev Educ Res. 86(4):945-980, 2016.

Team-based Teacher Development

• Team-based efforts foster teacher learning• Improves collegiality, reflection, ability to implement new strategies,

understanding of students and pedagogy, etc.

• Attend to individual teams and organization• Focus on individual team interactions (trust, cohesion, communication); clear

goals and objectives team composition, facilitation, and leadership

• Provide organizational support and reward for team achievements

• Future research• Examine impact on team functioning, teacher attitudes, and organizational levels

of support

Gast et al. Team-based professional development interventions in higher education: A systematic review, Rev Educ Res, 87, 736-767, 2017.

Time to Pause

• What approach is popular in studying faculty development?

• Is it the right approach?

Students/Trainees

Student learner outcomes: •Higher performance•Higher ratings of teachers

Patients

Patient care outcomes:• Better patient care•Improved health outcomes

FacultyMember

3

FacultyMember

4

FacultyMember

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FacultyMember

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FacultyMember1

Faculty member as learner outcomes:•Satisfaction with program•Changes in behaviors

IndividualFaculty

Members

Model of Faculty Development Research

Time to Reframe the Model

• Found this model limiting

• Expanded literature search• Continuing professional development (“learning”) in teacher education

• Continuing medical education

• Quality Improvement

• Workplace learning

• Reframed model

O’Sullivan P, Irby DM. Reframing Research on Faculty Development. Acad Med. 86(4): 422-

428, 2011.

Faculty Development

Community

“Teaching Commons”

Program

Context

ParticipantsRelationships &

Networks

in the Workplace

Organization, Systems & Culture in the

Workplace

Tasks & Activities

in the Workplace

Mentoring & Coaching

in the Workplace

Facilitator

O’Sullivan P, Irby DM. Reframing Research on Faculty Development. Acad Med. 86(4):

422-428, 2011.

New Model

How have others found this model useful?

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2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

O'Sullivan PS. and Irby D. 2011. Reframing Research on Faculty Development. Acad Med. Citation Performance 2011-2017

Citations Cumulative Total

Sessions Sorted by Topics: Fac Dev Conf 2017

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Research Methodologies

O’Sullivan P, Irby D. Promoting Scholarship in Fac Dev. In Steinert Y. Faculty Development in the Health Professions. NY: Springer. pp. 375-398, 2014.

• Randomized/case control

• Correlational• Surveys• Network analysis

Experimental & Quasi-experimental

Positivism and Post Positivism

• Observations• Interviews• Structured tasks• Focus groups• Document review

Qualitative

Interpretivism

Critical Theory • Philosophical analysis

Mixed Methods

• Success cases• Educational design research• Sustainability narratives

Success Cases

• Clarify goals; do impact analysis profile

• Administer brief survey to sample trainees

• Analyze survey data; gauge scope of impact and identify success & non-success cases

• Conduct success case interviews

• Analyze impact, performance data

• Articulate conclusions & recommendationsBrinkerhoff, R. O. The success case method: A strategic evaluation approach to increasing the value and effect of training Advances in Developing Human Resources Vol. 7, No. 1 February 2005 86-101

Olson et al Peering inside the clock: Using success case method to determine how and why practice-based educational interventions succeed JCEHP 31 (S1): S50-59, 2011

Education Design Research

• Address theoretical questions about learning in context

• Progressive refinement: Design experiments are formative research to test and refine educational designs using theoretical principles

• Optimize to observe carefully how different elements are working

Collins, et al Design Research: Theoretical and Methodological Issues J Learn Sci. 2004: 13 (1) 15-42. Dolmans, et al. Building bridges between theory and practice in medical education using a design-based research approach: AMEE guide no. 60 Med Teach. 2012: 34, 1-10.

Sustainability Approach

http://www.mchipngo.net/lib/components/documents/susManualnoAnoC.pdf

Scheirer An agenda for research on the sustainability of public health programs Am J Eval. 2005;26 (3), 320-347.

Network Analysis

Post: “With whom have you become involved as a

result of TSP?”

Pre: “Please describe your network of educators before you began TSP.”

Moses et al. Developing an Educator

Network…Teach Learn Med. 2009; 21(3), 173-

179.

Studies we would love to do• Programs, tasks and activities

• How to include diversity, inclusion and equity in offerings? • How does faculty development strengthen identity formation?

• Facilitators, coaches• How do education coaches function in the workplace?• What do coaches engage with in the learning environment?

• Participants, networks, relationships• How do participants develop education networks in the workplace?• How effective is site-based team faculty development? • What is their intellectual engagement and motivation to engage?

• Context - organization and culture• How could faculty development be built into the routines of work?• How can faculty development integrate with institutional needs?

ASPIRE: Faculty Development Awards

1. Has clear goals that are aligned with organizational priorities, is systematically designed and evidence-based, and improves educational practice, leadership and/or scholarship.

2. Provides a wide variety of program offerings that engage a large number of faculty members.

3. Has sufficient resources to achieve its mission, is conducted by faculty members with expertise in faculty development and builds capacity by expanding the number of individuals skilled in offering faculty development.

4. Engages in ongoing program review and evaluation and examines impact on individuals, organizations and, where possible, the wider community.

5. Is committed to advancing faculty development by incorporating innovation and engaging in educational scholarship.

https://amee.org/awards-prizes/aspire-award

Summary

• The new conceptual model of research on faculty development can shine a spotlight on new areas of research

• A wide variety of research methodologies are available to explore these areas

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