Topline: Faculty Professional Development Survey

Background

The Office of Institutional Effectiveness collaborated with the Office of Professional Development to survey faculty about their experience with professional development. All faculty received a survey through email from 5/4-6/4/21, yielding an 18.28% response rate. Both adjunct (42.97%) and full-time faculty (57.03%) participated in the survey.

Results

Results from the survey should guide and improve future professional development activities. The survey provided insight on professional development needs and interest, logistics (platform, time, day, etc.) and experiences at PCC. Faculty had an opportunity to express additional needs, ideas or comments related to professional development.

Professional Development Needs and Interests

Faculty identified professional development opportunities that were deemed a need versus an interest. Results exemplified that professional development activities that were considered an ‘interest’ were considerably different from those considered a ‘need’. In fact, most professional development categories did not overlap in terms of ‘needs’ and ‘interests’.   

• The top professional development needs related to curriculum development included: copyright and fair/appropriate use (38.82%), OER and ZTC (38.5%) and curriculum and instruction committee (how to move a course through the C&I process) (37.68%). The top interests included course design (76.51%), online/hybrid course development (70.5%) and syllabus design: equity minded (70%).

  Professional Development Related to Curriculum Development	Need	Interest
  Copyright and fair/appropriate use	38.82%	61.18%
  Open Educational Resources (OER) and Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC)	38.51%	61.49%
  Curriculum and Instruction Committee (how to move a course through the C&I process)	37.68%	62.32%
  Student learning outcomes	35.48%	64.52%
  Assessment (formative and summative)	30.29%	69.71%
  Syllabus design: equity-minded	30.00%	70.00%
  Online/hybrid course development	29.48%	70.52%
  Course design	23.49%	76.51%

• In terms of professional development related to pedagogical techniques, faculty noted equity-minded/anti-racist/culturally-responsive pedagogy (38.54%), collaborative learning (32.99%) and supporting English-as-a-second-language (ESL) learners (32.84%) as needs. Yet, identified flipped classroom (73.21%), work-based learning (72.95%) and service learning (72.0%) as interests.

  Pedagogical Techniques	Need	Interest
  Equity-minded/anti-racist/culturally-responsive pedagogy	38.54%	61.46%
  Collaborative learning	32.99%	67.01%
  Supporting English-as-a-second-language (ESL) learners	32.84%	67.16%
  Problem-based learning	32.72%	67.28%
  Metacognition and critical thinking	31.68%	68.32%
  Promoting academic integrity in class	31.17%	68.83%
  Reading/writing across the disciplines	29.77%	70.23%
  Active learning	28.57%	71.43%
  Service learning	28.00%	72.00%
  Work-based learning	27.05%	72.95%
  Flipped classroom	26.79%	73.21%

• In regards to diversity, equity and inclusion, faculty identified equity gaps (identifying and making sense of them) (44.16%), hiring diverse faculty/staff/managers (41.55%) and discussing race-related topics (38.04%) as top needs whereas top interests were historical and social context of PCC and Pasadena (67.55%), safe zones and/or other ally trainings (66.88%) and culturally-responsive/affirming practices (66.2%).

  Professional development related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion	Need	Interest
  Equity gaps (identifying and making sense of them)	44.16%	55.84%
  Hiring diverse faculty/staff/managers	41.55%	58.45%
  Discussing race-related topics	38.04%	61.96%
  Racism and Anti-racism (as they manifest in educational policies and practices)	37.37%	62.63%
  Implicit bias (identifying and mitigating it)	34.32%	65.68%
  Culturally-responsive/affirming practices	33.80%	66.20%
  Safe Zones and/or other ally trainings	33.12%	66.88%
  Historical and social context of PCC and Pasadena	32.45%	67.55%

• According to faculty, professional development needs related to other aspects of supporting student success included guided pathways (32.1%), completion and transfer (29.1%) and club advisor training (28.6%). Top interests included first year experience (77.9%), career communities (77.2%) and student services available on campus (72.47%).

  Professional development related to other aspects supporting Student Success	Need	Interest
  Guided pathways	32.14%	67.86%
  Completion and transfer	29.13%	70.87%
  Club advisor training	28.57%	71.43%
  Student services available on campus	27.53%	72.47%
  Career communities	22.79%	77.21%
  First year experience	22.12%	77.88%

• Top professional development needs related to teaching technologies included closed captioning (44.19%), accessibility of documents (43.11%) and audio/video creation (40.28%). Top interests included library databases (63.91%), smart classroom technology (63.12%) and audio/video conferencing (ConferZoom) (63.06%).

  Professional development related to teaching technologies	Need	Interest
  Closed captioning	44.19%	55.81%
  Accessibility of documents, forms, websites, Canvas pages, etc.	43.11%	56.89%
  Audio/video creation	40.28%	59.72%
  Audio/video editing	39.64%	60.36%
  Tablets/drawing pads for class instruction	37.29%	62.71%
  Audio/video conferencing (ConferZoom)	36.94%	63.06%
  Smart classroom technology	36.88%	63.12%
  Library databases	36.09%	63.91%

• Top professional development needs related to specific software applications included eLumen (48.98%), Canvas integrations (43.50%) and Adobe Acrobat (41.78%). Top interests included Outlook/PCC email (68.12%), PCC Connect (65.22%) and Vision Resource Center (65.14%).

  Professional development related to specific software applications used for Academic and Administrative tasks	Need	Interest
  eLumen (used for assessing student learning outcomes)	48.98%	51.02%
  Canvas integrations (Turnitin, Ally, Playposit, Pronto, etc.)	43.50%	56.50%
  Adobe Acrobat	41.78%	58.22%
  LancerPoint	40.74%	59.26%
  Curriculum management software (Courseleaf)	40.63%	59.38%
  Google Workspace (google docs, slides, etc.)	40.13%	59.87%
  Office 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher)	39.36%	60.64%
  Canvas	38.28%	61.72%
  Vision Resource Center	34.86%	65.14%
  PCC Connect (Starfish)	34.78%	65.22%
  Outlook/PCC e-mail	31.88%	68.12%

• Faculty identified rank advancement (43.8%), grant writing (40.0%) and leadership development (39.7%) as top needs for career advancement whereas they indicated public speaking (73.0%), curriculum vitae and cover letters (67.0%) and academic publishing (66.1%) as top interests.

  Professional development related to career advancement	Need	Interest
  Rank advancement	43.80%	56.20%
  Grant writing	40.00%	60.00%
  Leadership development	39.70%	60.30%
  Sabbatical projects	37.30%	62.70%
  Job interviews	37.00%	63.00%
  Academic publishing	33.90%	66.10%
  Curriculum vitae and cover letters	33.00%	67.00%
  Public speaking	27.00%	73.00%

• Top professional development needs for health & safety are COVID-19 safety (55.8%), active shooter training (46.8%) and first-aid/CPR (45.7%). Top interests were personal wellness (58.5%), personal safety/self-defense (56.3%) and earthquake/disaster preparedness (55.1%).

  Professional development related to health and safety	Need	Interest
  COVID-19 Safety	55.80%	44.20%
  Active shooter training	46.80%	53.20%
  First aid and CPR	45.70%	54.30%
  Earthquake/disaster preparedness	44.90%	55.10%
  Personal safety/self defense	43.80%	56.30%
  Personal wellness	41.50%	58.50%

• Faculty decided that information about CalSTRS/CalPRS benefits & rights (52.0%) was the top professional development need related to retirement and financial planning whereas financial planning (51.5%) was the top interest.

  Professional development related to retirement and financial planning	Need	Interest
  CalSTRS/CalPRS benefits & rights	52.00%	48.00%
  Retirement planning	51.50%	48.50%
  Financial planning	48.50%	51.50%

Logistics: Preferred Platform and Time/Day

Faculty preferred online professional development activities both online synchronous (20.19%) and asynchronous (19.65%). Additionally, they expressed a preference for in person workshops, one or two hours (18.71%). In terms of the day and time for professional development activities, faculty preferred Fridays, in the morning from 8am-12pm (18.92%) or afternoon (16.72%).

Preferred Professional Development Platforms	% of responses
Online synchronous (i.e., guided and with a defined timeline for all participants)	20.19%
Online asynchronous (i.e., self-paced)	19.65%
In-person workshop, one or two hours	18.71%
Hybrid (e.g., a two-hour in-person session with an asynchronous aspect, or a two-hour online synchronous session with an asynchronous aspect)	13.46%
In-person workshop, half day	11.57%
In-person multi-part workshop/course occurring across a semester or intersession (e.g., a three-part series that occurs on three consecutive Friday mornings)	6.73%
In-person multi-part workshop/course occurring at the beginning or end of an intersession (e.g., a three day course that occurs during the first three days of summer)	6.19%
In-person workshop, full day	3.50%

Preferred Professional Development	% of responses
Friday morning (8am-12pm)	18.92%
Friday afternoon (12pm-4pm)	16.72%
Monday-Thursday early afternoon (12pm-3pm)	14.70%
Monday-Thursday morning (7am-12pm)	13.85%
Saturday morning (8am-12pm)	10.14%
Monday-Thursday late afternoon (3pm-5pm)	9.97%
Saturday afternoon (12pm-4pm)	7.94%
Monday-Thursday evening (5pm-8pm)	7.77%

Participation and Experience with Professional Development

The top reason faculty did not participate in professional development activities was because the dates/times conflicted with their schedule (31.32%). In addition, they noted that topics were not relevant/interesting (15.45%).

Reasons for not participating in professional development activities	% of responses
Dates/times conflicted with my schedule	31.32%
Topics were not relevant/interesting	15.45%
Unaware of offerings	12.53%
Obligations related to other employment	12.32%
Nothing prevented me from attending	11.06%
No funding to support my participation	9.60%
Coverage was needed and not available	6.26%
Manager did not support my participation	1.46%

Faculty expressed their level of agreement with statements pertaining to professional development. The majority (85.8%) agreed (strongly/moderately) that they are interested in participating in professional development.  Moreover, the majority agreed (89.5%) that professional development can help improve their professional practice. More than half (56.9%) agreed they were satisfied with the professional development offerings at PCC. One-third (33.1%) agreed that they would be interested in facilitating professional development activities at PCC.

Statements	Strongly agree	Moderately agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Moderately disagree	Strongly disagree
I am interested in participating in professional development.	57.08%	28.75%	9.17%	2.50%	2.50%
I believe professional development can help me improve my professional practice.	59.41%	30.13%	6.28%	1.67%	2.51%
I am satisfied with the professional development offerings at PCC.	14.64%	42.26%	24.27%	11.30%	7.53%
Professional development offerings at PCC help me explore new ways to promote equity in my practice.	25.74%	38.40%	23.21%	6.75%	5.91%
I am comfortable discussing race-related topics with my colleagues.	28.99%	35.71%	21.43%	6.30%	7.56%
I am interested in facilitating professional development activities at PCC.	11.44%	21.61%	38.56%	13.98%	14.41%