The impact of an active-learning designed faculty development program: A students’ perspective of an Italian university

  • Monica Fedeli University of Padua, Italy
  • Edward W. Taylor Penn State Harrisburg, USA
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18543/tjhe.2513
Keywords: student satisfaction, effectiveness, impact evaluation, faculty development, faculty learning communities

Abstract

This study aims to understand the impact of a faculty development program emphasizing active learning (innovative teaching) attended by instructors of diverse disciplines at the University of Padova in Italy, which has had an 800-year history of using traditional approaches to teaching and learning. Using a community of practice theoretical framework, it recognized that the development of faculty learning communities provided a supportive medium for fostering innovative teaching. A multilevel research design involving surveys collected from 2019 to 2020 explored the program’s impact in terms of student satisfaction and program effectiveness. Findings showed varied levels of impact, among student examination attempts, pass rates and average grades. These findings, although involving one university, are organizationally and culturally emblematic of other Italian universities and have related implications when considering the implementation of innovative approaches to teaching via faculty development programs. This study also revealed challenges (faculty engagement) and limitations when measuring (e.g., satisfaction, exam attempts) the impact of active learning in relationship to learning outcomes.

Received: 30 June 2022
Accepted: 3 October 2023

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Monica Fedeli, University of Padua, Italy

PhD, is Full Professor in Teaching and Learning Methods and Organizational Development at the University of Padova, Italy. She has been Adjunct Professor at Boston University, at Michigan State University, at Julius Maximilian University, Germany, Visiting Professor at California University Berkeley, School of Education. She is Fulbright Scholar recipient at University of Georgia, College of Education for the year 2020. Her current research interests include adult teaching and learning methods, faculty community and professional development, university business dialogue, critical approach for human and organizational development, gender equity and women leadership. Since 2021, Vice Rector for the Third Mission and Relations with the Territory. From 2016 to 2021 Advisor for University of Padova for Teaching and Learning Innovation and e-learning. She published more than 150 articles, books, and book chapters in variety of national and international journals, and book series.

Edward W. Taylor, Penn State Harrisburg, USA

EdD, is Professor Emeritus of Adult Education at Penn State Harrisburg, United States of America, in a graduate program that focuses on the teaching and learning of adults. He has extensive experience designing and leading workshops about teaching and learning (e.g., Adult Teaching Methods, Learning Theory, Promoting Critical Reflection, Role of Action Research in the Classroom, Promoting Faculty-Student Relationships) involving faculty/educators from a variety of disciplines (e.g., medical and health, engineering, education) in United States, Canada, Europe, Middle East and Central America. He trained more than 1000 faculty in Italy, mostly at University of Padova and worked also for other Italian universities teaching active learning and teaching innovation. His research interests include adult cognition, transformative learning theory, teaching in cultural institutions, and medical education. His research has appeared in Adult Education Quarterly, International Journal of Lifelong Education, Medical Teacher, and among other scholarly journals. He recently published Teaching in Public Places and co-edited Handbook of Transformative Learning: Theory, Research and Practice.

References

Allsop, Jared, Sarah J. Young, Erik J. Nelson, Jennifer Piatt, and Doug Knapp. 2020. “Examining the Benefits Associated with Implementing an Active Learning Classroom among Undergraduate Students.” International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 32, no. 3: 418–26. ERIC.

Angehrn, Albert A., and Katrina Maxwell. 2010. “Increasing Change Readiness in Higher Educational Institutions through a Simulation-Based Change Management Experience.” International Journal of Knowledge and Learning 6, no. 2/3 (August): 162–74. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijkl.2010.034751.

Bamber, Veronica, and Lorraine Stefani. 2015. “Taking up the Challenge of Evidencing Value in Educational Development: From Theory to Practice.” International Journal for Academic Development 21, no. 3 (November): 242– 54. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144x.2015.1100112.

Beach, Andrea L., Mary D. Sorcinelli, Ann E. Austin, and Jaclyn K. Rivard. 2016. Faculty Development in the Age of Evidence: Current Practices, Future Imperatives. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus Publishing.

Bertoni, Marco, and Monica Fedeli. 2021. “Scuole e Università.” In COVID-19: Dentro l’Emergenza: Una Lettura Multidisciplinare, edited by Gruppo di Studio Post-Covid-19 dell’Università di Padova, 51-78. Padova: Padova University Press.

Bierema, Laura L. 2019. “Adult Learning Theories and Practices.” In Connecting Adult Learning and Knowledge Management: Strategies for Learning and Change in Higher Education and Organizations, edited by Monica Fedeli and Laura L. Bierema, 3–25. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29872-2_1.

Bonwell, Charles C. and Eison, James A. 1991. Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom. Washington, DC: School of Education and Human Development, George Washington University. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED336049.pdf.

Borda, Emily, Emily Schumacher, Daniel Hanley, Edward Geary, Shannon Warren, Cassidy Ipsen, and Lauren Stredicke. 2020. “Initial Implementation of Active Learning Strategies in Large, Lecture STEM Courses: Lessons Learned from a Multi-Institutional, Interdisciplinary STEM Faculty Development Program.” International Journal of STEM Education 7, no. 1 (February): 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-020-0203-2.

Brooks, Catherine. 2010. “Toward ‘Hybridised’ Faculty Development for the Twenty-first Century: Blending Online Communities of Practice and Face-to-face Meetings in Instructional and Professional Support Programmes.” Innovations in Education and Teaching International 47, no. 3 (August): 261– 70. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2010.498177.

Chism, Van Note Nancy, Matthew C. Holly, and Cameron J. Harris. 2012. “Researching the Impact of Educational Development: Basis for Informed Practice.” To Improve the Academy 31, no. 20210331 (January): 129–145. https://doi.org/10.3998/tia.17063888.0031.013.

Corcoran, Niall M., and Aidan Duane. 2019. “Using Social Networks and Communities of Practice to Promote Staff Collaboration in Higher Education.” In Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning, edited by Monica Fedeli and Laura L. Bierema,157–74. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29872-2_9.

Cornelius-White, Jeffrey. 2007. “Learner-Centered Teacher-Student Relationships Are Effective: A Meta-Analysis.” Review of Educational Research 77, no. 1 (March): 113–43. https://doi.org/10.3102/003465430298563.

Cox, Milton D. 2004. “Introduction to Faculty Learning Communities.” New Directions for Teaching and Learning 2004, no. 97 (March): 5–23. https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.129.

Cox, Milton D. 2013. “The Impact of Communities of Practice in Support of Early- Career Academics.” International Journal for Academic Development 18, no. 1 (March): 18–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144x.2011.599600.

European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA). 2015. Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). Brussels: European Association of Institutions in Higher Education. http://hdl.voced.edu.au/10707/431240.

Fedeli, Monica and Edward. W. Taylor. 2016. “Exploring the Impact of a Teacher Study Group in an Italian University.” Formazione and Insegnamento: European Journal of Research on Education and Teaching 14, no. 3: 165-78. https://ojs.pensamultimedia.it/index.php/siref/article/download/2050/1921/7601

Fedeli, Monica. 2019. “Linking Faculty to Organization Development and Change: Teaching4Learning@Unipd.” In Connecting Adult Learning and Knowledge Management: Strategies for Learning and Change in Higher Education and Organizations, edited by Monica Fedeli and Laura L. Bierema, 51–68. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29872-2_3.

Freeman, Scott, Sarah L. Eddy, Miles McDonough, Michelle K. Smith, Nnadozie Okoroafor, Hannah Jordt and Mary P. Wenderoth. 2014. “Active Learning Increases Student Performance in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111, no. 23 (May): 8410–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319030111.

Ghislandi, Patrizia and Juliana Raffaghelli. 2014. “Scholarship of Teaching and Learning per una Didattica Universitaria di Qualità.” Formazione and Insegnamento: European Journal of Research on Education and Teaching 12, no 1: 107-28. https://ojs.pensamultimedia.it/index.php/siref/article/view/374/361.

Hagenauer, Gerda, and Simone E. Volet. 2014. “Teacher–Student Relationship at University: An Important yet under-Researched Field.” Oxford Review of Education 40, no. 3 (May): 370–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2014.921613.

Hativa, Nira. 2000. “Teacher Thinking, Beliefs, and Knowledge in Higher Education: An Introduction.” Instructional Science 28, no. 5/6: 331–34. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1026522620526.

Henderson, Charles, Andrea Beach, and Noah Finkelstein. 2011. “Facilitating Change in Undergraduate STEM Instructional Practices: An Analytic Review of the Literature.” Journal of Research in Science Teaching 48, no. 8 (September): 952–84. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20439.

Hyun, Jung, Ruth Ediger, and Donghun Lee. 2017. “Students’ Satisfaction on Their Learning Process in Active Learning and Traditional Classrooms.” The International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 29, no. 1 (January): 108–18. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1135821.pdf.

Kagwesage, Anne Marie. 2014. “Peer Interaction and Learning: A Study of Higher Education Students Initiated Group Work Activity.” International Journal of Knowledge and Learning 9, no. 3 (January): 179. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijkl.2014.068916.

Karcher, Elizabeth L., Daniel Guberman, Emily Bonem, and John Lumkes. 2022. “Instructor Perception of Incorporating Active Learning in College of Agriculture Classrooms.” Teaching & Learning Inquiry: The ISSOTL Journal 10 (October): 1-16 https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.10.36.

Lumpkin, Angela, Rebecca M. Achen, and Regan Dodd. 2015. “Student Perceptions of Active Learning.” College Student Journal 49, no. 1 (March): 121–33. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1095532.

Moya, Beatriz, Héctor Turra, and Denise Chalmers. 2018. “Developing and Implementing a Robust and Flexible Framework for the Evaluation and Impact of Educational Development in Higher Education in Chile.” International Journal for Academic Development 24, no. 2 (December): 163–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144x.2018.1555757.

Nelson, David W., and Candy A. Bianco. 2013. “Increasing Student Responsibility And Active Learning In An Undergraduate Capstone Finance Course.” American Journal of Business Education 6, no. 2 (February): 267–78. https://doi.org/10.19030/ajbe.v6i2.7692.

Nugent, Jeffrey S., R. Martin Reardon, Fran G. Smith, Joan A. Rhodes, Mary Jane Zander, and Teresa J. Carter. 2008. “Exploring Faculty Learning Communities: Building Connections among Teaching, Learning, and Technology.” The International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 20, no. 1 (January): 51–58. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ895225.pdf.

Prince, Michael J. 2004. “Does Active Learning Work? A Review of the Research.” Journal of Engineering Education 93, no. 3 (July): 223–31. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2004.tb00809.x.

Scheyvens, Regina, Amy L. Griffin, Christine L. Jocoy, Yan Liu, and Michael Bradford. 2008. “Experimenting with Active Learning in Geography: Dispelling the Myths That Perpetuate Resistance.” Journal of Geography in Higher Education 32, no. 1 (January): 51–69. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098260701731496.

Stains, Marilyne, Jordan Harshman, Matthew Barker, Stephanie V. Chasteen, Renée S. Cole, Sue Ellen DeChenne-Peters, M. Kevin Eagan, et al. 2018. “Anatomy of STEM Teaching in North American Universities.” Science 359, no. 6383 (March): 1468–70. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aap8892.

Stover, Sheri, and Korrin M. Ziswiler. 2017. “Impact of Active Learning Environments on Community of Inquiry.” The International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 29, no. 3 (January): 458–70. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1150760.pdf.

Sturko, Patricia A., and James A. Gregson. 2009. “Learning and Collaboration in Professional Development for Career and Technical Education Teachers: A Qualitative Multi-Case Study.” Journal of Industrial Teacher Education 45, no. 3 (January): 34–60. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ865353.pdf.

Sutherland, Kathryn, and Meegan Hall. 2018. “The ‘Impact’ of Academic Development.” International Journal for Academic Development 23, no. 2 (April): 69–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144x.2018.1451595.

Sweeney, Jillian C. and Ingram, Deborah. 2001. “A Comparison of Traditional and Web-Based Tutorials in Marketing Education: An Exploratory Study.” Journal of Marketing Education 23, no. 1 (April): 55–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/0273475301231007.

Tharayil, Sneha, Maura Borrego, Michael J. Prince, Kevin A. Nguyen, Prateek Shekhar, Cynthia J. Finelli, and Cindy Waters. 2018. “Strategies to Mitigate Student Resistance to Active Learning.” International Journal of STEM Education 5, no. 1 (March). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-018-0102-y.

Tuveri, Matteo, Zurru, Alessia, Fadda, Daniela and Saba, Michele. 2022. “Online Learning Mediated by Social Teaching Platforms: An Experience from a Flipped Undergraduate Physics Course in Renewable Energies.” European Journal of Physics 43, no. 5 (September): 055703. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6404/ac78a6.

UNESCO UIS. 2023. “Fields of Research and Development (FORD),” September. http://uis.unesco.org/en/glossary-term/fields-research-and-development-ford.

Waltz, Carolyn Feher, Louise S. Jenkins, and Na-Rae Han. 2014. “The Use and Effectiveness of Active Learning Methods in Nursing and Health Professions Education: A Literature Review.” Nursing Education Perspectives 35, no. 6 (November): 392–400. https://doi.org/10.5480/13-1168.

Wenger, Etienne. 2011. “Communities of Practice: A Brief Introduction.” http://hdl.handle.net/1794/11736.

Wenger, Etienne. 1998. Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Learning in Doing: Social, Cognitive and Computational Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511803932.

Wheeler, Lindsay B. and Bach J. Dorothe. 2021. “Understanding the Impact of Educational Development Interventions on Classroom Instruction and Student Success.” International Journal for Academic Development 26, no. 1 (January): 24–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2020.1777555.

Wieman, Carl. 2007. “Why Not Try a Scientific Approach to Science Education?” Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning 39, no. 5 (January 2007): 9–15. https://doi.org/10.3200/CHNG.39.5.9-15.

Published
2023-11-30
How to Cite
Fedeli, Monica, and Edward W. Taylor. 2023. “The Impact of an Active-Learning Designed Faculty Development Program: A students’ Perspective of an Italian University”. Tuning Journal for Higher Education 11 (1), 151-74. https://doi.org/10.18543/tjhe.2513.
Issue
Vol. 11 No. 1 (2023): Educational Journeys in times of uncertainty: Weathering the storms
Section
Articles

Authors are required to sign and submit a copyright transfer agreement after acceptance but before publication of their manuscript. To that effect, they receive, from the Managing Editor of Tuning Journal for Higher Education, a standard copyright assignment form designed along the following lines:

1. Authorship:

The author who signs the copyright transfer agreement must be the sole creator of the work or legally acting on behalf of and with the full agreement of all the contributing authors.

2. Copyright and Code of conduct:

a) Authors warrant that their work is original; has not been previously copyrighted or published in any form; is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; its submission and publication do not violate TJHE Ethical Guidelines for Publication and any codes (of conduct), privacy and confidentiality agreements, laws or any rights of any third party; and no publication payment by the Publisher (University of Deusto) is required.

b) Authors are solely liable for the consequences that may arise from third parties’ complaints about the submitted manuscript and its publication in Tuning Journal for Higher Education (TJHE).

c) Authors grant to the Publisher the worldwide, sub-licensable, and royalty-free right to exploit the work in all forms and media of expression, now known or developed in the future, for educational and scholarly purposes.

d) Authors retain the right to archive, present, display, distribute, develop, and republish their work (publisher's version) to progress their scientific career provided the original publication source (Tuning Journal) is acknowledged properly and in a way that does not suggest the Publisher endorses them or their use of the wortk.

e) Authors warrant that no permissions or licences of any kind will be granted that might infringe the rights granted to the Publisher.

3. Users:

Tuning Journal for Higher Education is an Open Access publication. Its content is free for full and immediate access, reading, search, download, distribution and reuse in any medium or format only for non-commercial purposes and in compliance with any applicable copyright legislation, without prior permission from the Publisher or the author(s). In any case, proper acknowledgement of the original publication source must be made and any changes to the original work must be indicated clearly and in a manner that does not suggest the author’s and or Publisher’s endorsement whatsoever. Any other use of its content in any medium or format, now known or developed in the future, requires prior written permission of the copyright holder.