Identifying Professional Development in Teaching & Learning Needs in Higher Education: A Measure

The evolving landscape of higher education necessitates a re-evaluation of professional development (PD) frameworks to support instructors in enhancing their teaching practices. This paper introduces the Professional Development in Teaching and Learning Recommender (PDTLR), developed to identify instructors’ needs based on salient categories of PD in teaching and learning common across higher education. Utilising Rasch Measurement Theory (RMT) and a sample of 245 university instructors from a state-funded university in Singapore, the PDTLR was found to provide a reliable and valid measure of PD needs in teaching and learning and addresses inadequacies in existing instruments for identifying higher education instructors’ PD needs. The PDTLR represents a significant advancement in identifying PD needs within higher education, offering a valuable resource for institutions aiming to foster continuous improvement and professional growth among their faculty.