Faculty development for outcome-based curriculum reform in the community college

The purpose of this study was to document a community college faculty development process through which the faculty learned to reconstruct their curriculum around significant learning outcomes and authentic assessment strategies. The following questions focused the inquiry: (1) What kind of organizational support systems were necessary for the faculty to move through the curriculum change process? (2) What organizational obstacles made curriculum change effort difficult for the faculty? (3) What faculty skills were essential to building learning-centered, outcome-based curricula? (4) What strategies used by the consultants were considered by the faculty to contribute the most to their ability to develop a learner-centered, outcome-based curriculum (5) What part of the curriculum re-design process did the faculty find most difficult? In this study, the investigator used an in-depth, qualitative, observational methodology to examine one community college faculty team as they engaged in the process of curriculum reform.;The eight major findings from the study were: (1) active involvement of mid-level managers is essential in outcome-based curriculum reconstruction efforts in the community college; (2) curriculum design teams working at the program level must intentionally communicate with both internal and external stakeholders; (3) balancing consistency with flexibility in institution-wide curriculum planning is a desirable but difficult process; (4) collaborative curriculum redesign is a time-consuming process where open dialogue has the effect of energizing the faculty; (5) systemic thinking and strategic thinking are the two most essential skills; (6) visualization and visual tools are effective means to developing systemic and strategic thinking skills; (7) the use of stories and metaphors actively engage faculty in open dialogue, critical thinking, and cooperative inquiry; and (8) diversity of style, opinions, and worldview add complexity and energy to curriculum planning.;This study provided three main recommendations for community colleges embarking on an outcome-based curriculum reform change effort: (1) Before beginning a major curriculum reconstruction effort, engage support from top institutional officers and insist on the direct involvement of the mid-level manager. (2) Involve faculty in activities that help them think systematic ally and strategically. (3) Use visual tools to reinforce an understanding of the characteristics of systems.