A Protocol for Developmental Faculty Coaching at the University Level

Abstract

This article discusses short-term developmental faculty coaching, which can be categorized as ongoing and personal professional development. This coaching is distinct from faculty evaluation. The developmental faculty coaching protocol discussed here is a novel one developed by the author. It was developed through direct observation of over 400 in-person and online classes of over 100 new and returning adjunct faculty at a small higher education institution in New York State, USA. The protocol was generally used with new faculty, who know an academic area, but they lack training in andragogy and have had no or little experience teaching university students. A pre-observation, during-observation, and post-observation protocol is outlined for the faculty coach and the instructor being coached. It is suggested that developmental faculty coaching be made available to all new higher education instructors and to those more experienced instructors who request it. Recommendations for future study include collecting data on individual instructors or a cohort of new instructors through quantitative and/or qualitative research, which would yield insights into how new instructors grow into excellent classroom teachers at the university level.