Today, traditional and non-traditional students demand 24/7 access to online courses that enable them to gain university credit while holding down full time jobs and meeting family obligations (Selingo, 2013). Digital natives no longer accept the fact that instruction in college and university classrooms requires them to “power down” at the door. Instead, the expectation for easy access to course content, including lecture notes and course materials, requires faculty to learn ways to make these items available before, during, and after classroom instruction. No longer must students sit idly in class; instead, they expect to use personal devices to quickly gain access to additional supporting documents and information while participating in classroom activities and lectures.  (For more information on global changes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdZiTQy3g1g )

To ensure students receive the best education possible, professional development needs to be available on a continual basis. One recent professional development method receiving involves online learning opportunities such as online courses, webinars, podcasts, and satellite broadcasts. A second method of professional development used mentoring. Mentoring scenarios generally include time for mentors and mentees to meet on a regular basis. Faculty members may schedule weekly or monthly lunch meetings for individual discussions or group mentoring sessions following instruction to discuss content and instructional concerns. Professional training centers provide a third option for disseminating professional development among faculty members. These on-site training opportunities create convenient instructional support for educators.

Seeing the big picture remains vital to understanding the necessity of continual growth and improvement in institutions of higher education. University students vie globally for jobs making the case for new and improved instructional strategies more important than ever. Additionally, an employer’s expectation for potential employees to possess advanced skills in teamwork and collaboration calls universities to rethink traditional teaching methods (Selingo, 2013). These expectations make traditional “stand and deliver” lecture style classrooms incapable of preparing students for the current working environment. Faculty members who fail to provide students with opportunities to discuss, plan, and brainstorm with classmates hinder their ability to function effectively in today’s workplace (Bok, 2013).

With political and societal pressure to improve, the question becomes not if, but when, changes will become mandatory for higher education (Bok, 2013). How quickly and to what extent universities face this challenge will determine the level of input university leaders enjoy. While no foolproof way to engage faculty members in professional development opportunities exists, consistent, continuous learning opportunities provide the necessary instructional growth for higher education to develop students prepared to compete in tomorrow’s global economy.

Rose Burks, M. Ed.
Doctoral Student, Doctorate in Leadership Program, Hardin-Simmons University
Director of Curriculum and Federal Programs, Region 14 Education Service Center
Abilene, Texas
rburk@esc14.net

References

Bok, D. (2013). Higher education in America. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Selingo, J. J. (2013). College (un)bound: The future of higher education and what it means for students. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.