Assessment Of Professional Development Activities, Instructional Needs, And Methods Of Delivery For Part-Time Technical And Occupational Faculty In U.S. Community Colleges

摘要

This study describes the professional development activities and perceived instructional needsand best methods of delivering professional development opportunities for part-time occupational and technical program faculty within the community colleges in the U.S. Introduction to the policies and procedures of the college and/or department, introduction to other college faculty/staff, orientation to the course/classroom, and help in meeting administrative requirements were the professional development activities found to occur at least once a quarter or semester. The types of instructional help part-time faculty members were perceived to need most were: (a) identifying the learning characteristics of students, (b) alternating teaching methods to accommodate different learning styles, (c) participation inweb-based instruction, and (d) participation in distance learning. It was discovered that professional development activities should be offered to part-time faculty at least once per semester or quarter using seminar discussions, group classroom activities, and computer assisted instruction or multi-media interaction as the preferred methods of delivery. An evening/night format and during the Fall were found to be the most suitable times to offer professional development opportunities and per diem and travelexpenses should be provided to part-time faculty for participation in professional development activities.