Faculty development is a way for educators to learn how to make good teaching better. There are three keys factors to faculty development: collegiality, customization, and communication. These beliefs grew from my experience as a seasoned educator and in my doctoral research.

Collegiality is central to successful faculty development. Collegiality means that colleagues are able to work together toward a common purpose such as improving teaching and learning or adding new knowledge to an academic field. Faculty developers should find common ground with faculty to approach improving teaching and learning.

Effective faculty developers customize the content of the professional development offerings to meet the needs of a client. Customization is important because clients have various experiences as classroom teachers. The development of a workshop for a new faculty member who has never instructed in a classroom would look quite different from a session delivered to a teaching assistant who assists with moderating group discussions in Canvas. Additionally, faculty developers are skilled at knowing where a faculty member falls in regards to Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development. They know where the faculty member is with knowledge, what they can do, and what constitutes going outside the zone. Recognizing this key area has an influence on communication.

Communication is another critical aspect to faculty development. Proactively contacting clients to arrange meetings, observations, workshops, and follow-up visits is very important. My own experiences have taught me that follow-up communication and support is central to success after a training session has ended which better ensures that newly acquired knowledge is used in practice. Providing long-term support in conjunction with a longitudinal approach for developing positive relationships with faculty across all campuses helps to ensure a better chance of sustainable change at the local level.

Faculty development does not include a single area, but many areas that the developer must be knowledgeable about. Embracing the key areas of collegiality, customization, and communication can help the faculty developer meet or exceed the needs of the faculty member to improve teaching and learning.