Perspectives on faculty development aiming for 6/

Authors: Yvonne Steinert

Publish Date: 2012/02/10

Volume: 1, Issue: 1, Pages: 31-42

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Abstract

Faculty development has a key role to play in individual and organizational development This perspective on faculty development which builds on the 2020 Vision of Faculty Development Across the Medical Education Continuum Conference and the First International Conference on Faculty Development in the Health Professions describes six recommendations that we should consider as the field of faculty development moves forward grounding faculty development in a theoretical framework broadening the focus of faculty development to address the various roles that clinicians and basic scientists play recognizing the role that faculty development can play in promoting curricular and organizational change expanding our notion of how faculty members develop and moving beyond formal structured activities to incorporate notions of workbased learning and communities of practice making faculty development an expectation for all faculty members and promoting scholarship in faculty development to ensure that research informs practice Looking ahead we should also consider strategies for leading change collaborate across institutions and international borders and work together to share lessons learned in research and practiceTwo recent conferences addressed important issues related to the future of faculty development The first entitled the 2020 Vision of Faculty Development Across the Medical Education Continuum Conference 1 focused on core teaching competencies and barriers to effective teaching relationshipcentred care and the hidden curriculum that faculty members encounter instructional technologies and biomedical informatics lessons learned from continuing medical education and research on faculty development 2 The second entitled the First International Conference on Faculty Development in the Health Professions was held in May 2011 and welcomed over 300 participants from 28 countries to Toronto The goal of this conference was to bring together international leaders and educators in faculty development share best practices and research findings in this emerging field and stimulate programme development innovation and scholarshipThe goal of this article is to build on the theme of this journal and share perspectives on faculty development based on the 2020 Vision of Faculty Development Across the Medical Education Continuum Conference and lessons learned from the First International Conference on Faculty Development in the Health Professions In doing so I would like to highlight six recommendations for practice and research that we should consider as the field of faculty development moves forward 1 grounding faculty development in a theoretical framework 2 broadening the focus of faculty development to address the various roles that clinicians and basic scientists play 3 recognizing the role that faculty development can play in promoting curricular and organizational change 4 expanding our notion of how faculty members develop and moving beyond formal structured activities to incorporate notions of workbased learning and communities of practice 5 making faculty development an expectation for all faculty members and 6 promoting scholarship in faculty development to ensure that research informs practiceThe call for proposals for the First International Conference on Faculty Development in the Health Professions defined faculty development as ‘that broad range of activities that institutions use to renew or assist faculty in their roles’ 3 It also reaffirmed the importance of using these activities to ‘assist faculty in their roles as teachers educators administrators leaders and/or researchers’ 4 Although this may be one of the more comprehensive definitions of faculty development to date conference deliberations highlighted the diversity of terms used to describe this aspect of professional development as well as the fact that some languages have no equivalent At the same time the meaning of faculty development across cultures was revealing For example the Dutch term docentprofessionalisering loosely translates as the professionalization of teaching This emphasis on professionalization of both teachers and teaching is intriguing and clearly aligns with a current focus on standards for teaching 5 6 The term is limited however in its emphasis on teaching at the exclusion of other important faculty roles and tasks In some ways the French term formation professorale is more inclusive as it is not restricted to teaching and refers to the ‘formation’ of the professorial role the German term Personal und Organisationsentwicklung is also of interest as it emphasizes both individual and organizational development another critical component of faculty development Irrespective of the nomenclature however faculty development should encompass the skills relevant to the individual’s institutional and faculty position and help to sustain their vitality both now and in the future 7 We should also consider WebsterWright’s shift 8 from professional development to ‘continual professional learning’ which in many ways describes the ultimate goal of faculty development as long as we remember that the word faculty is meant to be inclusive referring to all individuals who are involved in the teaching and supervision of students in the health professions at all levels of the continuum in a wide range of contexts eg in the classroom at the bedside in the outpatient clinic and settings eg the university the hospital and the communityMacDougall and Drummond 9 have observed that there is no clear theoretical framework to describe how medical teachers and educators develop Theory is also noticeably absent from the faculty development literature 7 And yet a number of educational theories can be applied to faculty development and the development of faculty members including constructivism 10 social learning 11 and selfefficacy 12 However in my opinion situated learning 13 appears to be one of the most useful theoretical frameworks as it is based upon the notion that knowledge is contextually situated and fundamentally influenced by the activity context and culture in which it is used 13 This view of knowledge as situated in authentic contexts holds important implications for our understanding of how faculty members develop as do the individual components of situated learning cognitive apprenticeship ie modelling scaffolding fading and coaching collaborative learning reflection practice and articulation of learning skills 14 In fact reflection—and its role in faculty development—will warrant more attention in the future for reflection ‘allows for the integration of theoretical concepts into practice increased learning through experience and enhanced critical thinking in complex situations’ 15 Principles of adult learning 16 and experiential learning 17 are also pertinent in the design and delivery of faculty development programmesClosely tied to the notion of situated learning is the concept of ‘legitimate peripheral participation’ 18 This social practice which combines experiential learning and apprenticeship into a single theoretical perspective 19 is the process by which a novice becomes an expert From this perspective learners build new knowledge and understanding through gradual participation in the community of which they are becoming a part As learners they begin at the edge—or periphery—of the community where because of their status as learners they have what is called ‘legitimate peripheral participation’ and through participation they slowly adopt the knowledge attitudes and behaviours of the community 20 In many ways faculty members go through this process as they take on their roles as teachers and educators According to Wenger 21 social participation within the community is the key to informal learning it is also a central ingredient in faculty developmentBoth the faculty development literature and the conference proceedings focus predominantly on teaching and instructional effectiveness 22 however there is a critical need for faculty development activities to address the other roles of faculty members including that of leader/administrator and researcher/scholar 7 Faculty members’ own career development should also not be forgottenHealth care delivery clinical practice and medical education are all in a state of flux 2 As a result faculty members need to be prepared to deal with the rapid changes and shifting paradigms that are occurring in all three domains Although some faculty development programmes have targeted leadership skills for health care professionals by focusing on skill acquisition 23 personal awareness 24 and increased knowledge of leadership style and organizational contexts 25 this area of professional development requires greater attention In fact faculty development initiatives should systematically address a wide range of topics including personal and interpersonal effectiveness leadership styles and change management conflict resolution and negotiation team building and collaboration and organizational change and development 2 Moving forward we will need to develop leaders who can identify opportunities for change respond effectively to emerging needs and be prepared to take action

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