THE INFLUENCE OF SAGE 2YC PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON TEACHING, LEADERSHIP, AND CAMPUS AND REGIONAL DISSEMINATION

Since 2015 a team of researchers and evaluators has investigated the influence of the NSF-funded project, Faculty as Change Agents: Transforming Geoscience Education in Two-Year Colleges (SAGE 2YC). The SAGE 2YC program is unique in its multi-year sustained engagement of faculty Change Agents (CAs), its focus on leadership development that fosters diffusion of practices, and its engagement of institutional administrators in the work of the CAs over time. To date, the 17 CA teams of 36 faculty at 22 community colleges have participated in a program that promotes a cycle of collegial dialogue, improvement of practices, and critical reflection centered on supporting the success of all students, broadening participation, and facilitating students’ career pathways. The project requires CAs to collect and reflect on how course-level outcomes data can inform changes made to practices and programs. Inspired by the spirit of inquiry, CAs reported changing 85 geoscience courses. From end of workshop surveys and faculty reflections, all CAs describe data strategies that they use to inform practices, with many teams disaggregating data to examine course-level outcomes with an equity lens. CAs report that the active learning strategies that they adopted have become their new normal. The program requires CAs to lead regional events, providing a means to practice their leadership skills and disseminate practices. In response to surveys and interviews, nearly all CAs report that the program influenced their leadership, giving them confidence to lead on campus and in their region, tools for enhancing or maintaining their leadership style, and strategies for sharing what they learned to help others. Finally, distinct to the SAGE 2YC program is the involvement of site administrators. CAs report that routine communications with administrators give them campus contacts and help with advocacy for their program ideas. Administrators state that they value involvement in the program by giving them time to work with CAs on plans that align with institutional priorities and hearing ideas from other two-year colleges. Moreover, administrators report that they plan to leverage the work of their CAs in leading campus professional development efforts, furthering the sphere of CAs’ influence and reach.