A Multiple Case Study of Teaching-Focused Professional Development Programs Offered at Three Different Types of US Institutions of Higher Education

Teaching-focused professional development (PD) programs offered at institutions of higher education (IHEs) are uniquely positioned to be levers of change that improve the quality of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in ways that broaden participation in STEM education, workforce development, and career pathways in the United States (US). PD programs and their potential to transform undergraduate STEM education, however, are understudied. This multiple-case study compares suites of PD programs offered at three IHEs in the US: a community college, an emerging research institution, and a research-intensive university. Each suite of PD programs is characterized in terms of program structure, implementation, and potential to transform undergraduate STEM education. The presented results illustrate the existence of a wide range of ways in which PD programs are structured and implemented. A key finding is a suite of PD programs offered at these IHEs has greater potential to transform undergraduate STEM education when embedded in an institutional culture that highly prioritizes the teaching enterprise. Lastly, the results are synthesized into an innovative framework. The framework can be used as a tool to design, implement, and evaluate PD programs so they have greater potential to transform undergraduate STEM education in the US.