Faculty development opportunities related to
learning and teaching have common characteristics –
every case is not new. Other disciplines, such as
architecture and software design, have recognized
commonalities within their fields and responded with use
of “design patterns.” In this paper, the authors identify
three useful design patterns that have emerged in research
on successful faculty development activities as models for
thinking and communicating about contexts, challenges
and responses in faculty development practice and
outcomes. Three design patterns that have evolved in
faculty development are Diffusion, Appreciative Inquiry,
and Decoding the Disciplines.
Identification, delineation, and utilization of design
patterns in faculty development have several potential
benefits to STEM faculty members. First, the process
promotes a paradigm shift from thinking of faculty
development challenges as isolated occurrences to one that
uses commonality to ease development of new activities
and build on previous contributions. Second, it motivates
greater application of the learning literature to faculty
development by emphasizing analysis and feedback on
what is going well and what can be learned from success
before addressing change. Finally, it provides a way for
faculty developers to think about challenges in their
profession using processes familiar to them within their
areas of disciplinary expertise.