Abstract:
Higher education faculty receive assistance with their instruction, often through teaching or faculty development centers. Instructional consultations, offered by teaching centers, help to examine and analyze teaching to establish areas of improvement. This study examined the perceptions and experiences of higher education faculty who participated in an instructional consultation. The purpose of this study explored the reason for the participants to attend a consultation, their emotions and feelings throughout the consultation, and the perception of the consultation’s benefits. Also, this research showed the differing consultation approaches and processes used by teaching centers consultants.
Twelve faculty from the University System of Georgia (USG), which consists of 26 public colleges and universities, participated in the study. The participants varied in rank and institution-type. Data collection occurred through comprehensive semi-structured interviews, summarized in Chapter 4. The three research questions examined in this study: (1) What were the experiences and perceptions that led faculty from the University System of Georgia higher education institutions to participate in an instructional consultation? (1a) What teaching challenge led these higher education faculty to participate in an instructional consultation? (3) How beneficial did the faculty member perceive the consultation process in addressing the reason for the consultation? Major findings include differences in the consultation process based on the institution type, the participant’s motivation to attend, the emotions experienced by the participants, and support for consultations and teaching centers.
Keywords: Faculty Development Higher Education, Consultations, Instructional Consultations, Adult Learners, Motivation