A mixed methods study of faculty experiences in a course design institute

Remote teaching created a unique opportunity to study the experiences of faculty participating in a course design institute. Hundreds enrolled the online institute, where technologies (e.g., Zoom, Canvas, Google Docs, etc.) facilitated interactions among participants and preserved their ideas and perspectives throughout the program. Using a grounded theory analysis approach attentive to the participants’ words, the authors uncovered participants’ experiences and their perspectives on the structures that shaped those experiences. The data ultimately revealed five themes (pedagogical knowledge; student perspective; community and connection; technology; emotion) that relate to changes in participant attitudes, perceptions, and/or pedagogical approaches. Drawing on these themes, we identify implications for future professional development programing design that align with other results from the literature, including the importance of modeling the student experience, deliberately addressing community and connection, building in time for synthesis and commitment, and prompting faculty to identify and reflect on their emotions. Though some of the identified themes may have been more visible because data were captured in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, these themes are aligned with prior research and existing learning theories and will apply to the design of course design institutes beyond the context of crisis situations.