Research & Reports
During the first workshop in a virtual professional learning series I developed as part of Achieving the Dream’s Scaling Shortened Academic Terms (SSAT) initiative, I introduced backward design and began talking about learning outcomes. Before I could finish the thought, an English faculty member pushed back. She shared that her department had recently redesigned its outcomes and was not changing them again.
My first thought was, This is going off the rails fast, and we are not even 10 minutes in.
I quickly realized we were not talking about the same thing. I listened, clarified that we would focus on prioritizing existing outcomes for a shortened term, and reframed the conversation. A few faculty members added to the discussion, which helped us clarify the point and move forward. By the third workshop, the English faculty member was receptive and actively engaged in the process.
The interaction stayed with me, especially because we shared the same discipline. I had come prepared to help faculty redesign their courses, but I was beginning to realize that I first needed to understand where faculty were starting instead of assuming I already knew what they needed.
As the SSAT work continued, the lesson became clearer. Faculty came with a range of experiences, questions about redesign, and ways of engaging with professional learning. Their feedback made me rethink both what I was offering and how I was offering it. It also reinforced something I learned during my years in the classroom: Faculty are learners, too; we should be as thoughtful about their learning as we expect them to be about their students’ learning.
That lesson feels especially relevant as colleges engage faculty who teach in short-term programs connected to Workforce Pell. My colleague Amanda Olmstead explored the broader questions colleges should consider about this federal program in her blog, “Preparing for Workforce Pell: How Colleges Can Lead the Way,” including the importance of engaging faculty. Workforce Pell brings additional attention to student outcomes in programs already operating within a short timeframe, including requirements that eligible programs meet at least a 70% completion rate and a 70% job-placement rate. My experience with shortened academic terms has shown me that when time is compressed, faculty must be especially clear about what students should know and be able to do and must design the learning experience around those priorities. Faculty are not solely responsible for completion, but they play an important role in creating learning experiences that help students stay on track, build relevant skills, and prepare for employment in their field.
“Providing excellent resources for parenting students is an important starting point. Colleges can strengthen their impact by ensuring that policies, schedules, advising practices, communications, and campus culture create the conditions for parenting students to access opportunities and advance toward their goals.”
— Barbara Rodriguez, Ph.D.
While helping colleges scale shortened academic terms, I have learned not to assume that all faculty have the same needs simply because they are teaching in a shortened format. Some may be preparing to teach this way for the first time. Others may have taught shortened courses for years and are looking for ways to strengthen what they already do. For me, the starting point is the same: Ask before assuming.
That means listening to faculty and reviewing the information we already have. Completion rates, assessment results, and other program-level evidence can point to areas worth exploring more closely. Student outcomes are influenced by many factors, so neither the data nor faculty perspectives give us the full picture on their own. Looking at both can help colleges better understand where additional support may be useful.
I have also realized that professional learning should be designed for application, not attendance. As part of SSAT, I developed virtual course redesign academies where faculty had access to readings, videos, and other resources before our live sessions. Access to the content in advance allowed us to use synchronous time to apply ideas, work through questions, and give feedback rather than spend most of the session delivering information.
The experience also had to result in something tangible. Faculty were expected to apply what they were learning to their own courses. Professional learning should give faculty the opportunity to practice, produce, and reflect — not just listen. If we want faculty to create meaningful learning experiences for students, what we design for faculty should model those same expectations.
Even strong professional learning is not enough on its own. Faculty need support on their campuses before, during, and after the experience. Campuses should identify a clear point of contact to support participating faculty by checking in, asking what they need, and helping them think through how they will apply what they have learned.
Campus support does not have to be complicated or costly. It can be a faculty champion who follows up, a department chair who reviews a redesigned course element, a learning community that gives faculty space to keep working together, or simply an acknowledgment of the time and effort faculty have invested. Actions like these let faculty know that the institution sees and values the work they are doing.
This is where partnership matters. An outside partner can bring expertise, resources, and lessons learned across institutions. The college brings the relationships, context, and ongoing support that help faculty put the learning into practice. The strongest support happens when outside expertise is reinforced on campus.
These professional learning experiences helped me see how the principles of backward design can apply to faculty learning. We ask faculty to begin with what students should know and be able to do, determine how students will demonstrate that learning, and then design the learning experiences that will help them get there. The same intentionality can guide how colleges support faculty: Understand where faculty are starting, identify what they need to be able to do, consider what evidence will show whether those efforts are helping, and then design professional learning and campus-based support accordingly.
As colleges continue preparing for Workforce Pell, I hope faculty support is part of the planning process from the beginning. Workforce Pell is the reason I am asking these questions now, but the lesson is broader. When an initiative affects teaching and learning, we should put the same care into designing learning for faculty that we expect faculty to put into designing learning for students.
Learn more about ATD’s Scaling Shortened Academic Terms initiative, which is funded by Ascendium Education Group.