FACULTY PERCEPTIONS OF THE LONG-TERM IMPACT OF INDIVIDUAL CONSULTING ON IMPROVEMENT OF INSTRUCTION IN HIGHER EDUCATION

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of individual consulting on improvement of instruction. Faculty members who participated in this process two to seven years earlier were interviewed. Thirty-four faculty members were interviewed during the 1981-82 academic year. The interviewees were selected from a confidential file of faculty participants at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UN-L) Teaching and Learning Center. Included in the study were faculty members who worked with a consultant at least two years ago and who represented a variety of academic ranks, academic disciplines, and numbers of years of teaching experience. An open-ended, structured interview schedule was developed and tested by a panel of experts and a pilot study. The interview research tool allowed flexibility in responses and the ability to probe in-depth. The data were analyzed by identifying similarities, differences and patterns in responses and were presented through descriptive narrative and paraphrased responses. Findings. From the 34 faculty members who participated in the study, 30, or 91 percent, made changes in their teaching resulting from individual consulting. Most faculty members viewed the consulting process as helpful in pinpointing areas in their teaching to focus their attention and in giving them specific ideas that worked. Four said the consultant did not help them because they only received confirmation that what they were doing was appropriate. Instead, they wanted specific suggestions. Seventeen faculty members made major changes in their instructional strategies and ten completely changed how they taught and how they perceived their role. Changes faculty members made in their teaching were considered improvements and had been sustained over time. Most interviewees felt better about their teaching and reported positive changes in student performance and student evaluations. Numbers of years of teaching experience seemed to influence the way faculty members responded to individual consulting. Most faculty members had continued or increased their involvement in instructional improvement activities, at least since they had been at UN-L. All of those interviewed considered individual consulting a necessary service for university faculty. All would recommend individual consulting to others