Factors that Influence Faculty Adoption of Learning-Centered Approaches
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Factors that Influence Faculty Adoption of Learning-Centered Approaches Phyllis Blumberg 1
Published online: 3 November 2015 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015
Abstract This article proposes a recommended course of action for faculty development based upon Rogers’ theory of Diffusion of Innovations and data collected in a study looking at the prevalence of use of learning-centered teaching practices. Specific faculty development strategies are aligned with Rogers’ factors influencing decisions to adopt innovations. The analysis of data indicated that 14% of the faculty members interviewed used predominately learning-centered teaching approaches and 8% rejected learning-centered teaching. Between these extremes, the others used learning-centered teaching components that fit with their personal teaching style and naturally suit their discipline. These recommendations will assist faculty developers, deans, chairs, and mentors in helping faculty members adopt learningcentered teaching practices. Keywords Diffusion of innovation . Learning-centered teaching . Teaching practices Learning-centered teaching shifts the focus of instruction from what the teacher does to how and how well the students learn. Weimer (2002, 2013) defined five broad practices that traditional instructor-centered faculty members need to change in order to implement learning-centered teaching. These are (1) the function of content, (2) the role of the instructor, (3) the responsibility for learning, (4) the purposes and processes of assessment, and (5) the balance of power. Blumberg (2009) further defined these five practices into 32 specific instructor behaviors termed Bcomponents of learning-centered teaching.^ Each component describes a different teaching practice such as using formative assessment or teaching lifelong learning skills. Blumberg (2009) advocated for an incremental adoption of this teaching approach through a four step model going from instructor-centered teaching to learningPhyllis Blumberg received her Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. She currently serves as the Assistant Provost for Faculty, Leadership, and Assessment Development at the University of the Sciences. Her research interests include learning-centered teaching and assessing the effectiveness of teaching.
* Phyllis Blumberg [email protected] 1
Office of the Provost, University of the Sciences, 600 S. 43rd St., Philadelphia 19104 PA, USA
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Innov High Educ (2016) 41:303–315
centered teaching. Rubrics represent this continuum of instructor’s behaviors for the 32 components of learning-centered teaching. Each rubric describes four levels of different instructor behaviors related to these components; these levels are instructor-centered, lower level of transitioning, higher level of transitioning, and learning-centered teaching. The complete set of rubrics can be found in Appendix B of Blumberg (2009), and Appendix C of this book describes how the rubrics were validated. Instructors can assess their learningcentered implementation progress
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