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ERIC Number: ED633817
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 150
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-3795-3187-4
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Balancing Fidelity and Agency in Higher Education Curriculum: Implementing a Complex, Large-Scale Redesign
Thurber, Derek
ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Arizona State University
The purpose of this action research study was to improve the implementation of a large-scale redesign of teacher preparation programs at Arizona State University. This was a highly complex redesign that impacted over 150 courses across 27 programs, involving more than 200 faculty and 2,500 students annually. As a result, implementing the redesign posed significant challenges for supporting fidelity and agency across all faculty involved, including many part-time faculty and new hires with no prior knowledge of the redesigned program curricula. While this challenge was not unique, I approached it in a novel way in this action research study by creating course "fact sheets" that provided simple, visual representations of each course's intended purpose within the program's context to solve what was fundamentally an information transfer challenge. To study the effects of this intervention, I used a convergent mixed methods approach to address three guiding research questions aimed at exploring (1) how faculty used the course fact sheets, (2) how that use related to differences in outcomes related to implementation fidelity and sense of teaching agency, and (3) how those differences compared to an online orientation module as a more traditional form of professional development. Results showed that a majority of the 122 faculty members surveyed used the course fact sheets and, on average, found them highly usable for the purpose of gaining knowledge about their courses as part of the redesign. Furthermore, those who used course fact sheets had significant increases in their knowledge and confidence of implementation fidelity practices and significant increases in their sense of teaching agency. The results also showed more positive outcomes for those using the fact sheets than those who participated in an orientation module. However, interview results suggested that the fact sheets may not have been enough to address all the factors that influence faculty agency. Nevertheless, this study has important implications for faculty development initiatives in higher education, demonstrating the potential of course fact sheets as a scalable solution to improve the implementation of large-scale redesigns. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: 800-521-0600; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Arizona
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A