1. To what extent do faculty and staff find the learning initiative meaningful in terms of their practice as educators?

2. What alternative or competing models are present in faculty and staff tacit repertoires?

3. How do faculty and staff make meaning of the model within the context of their professional practice?

1. Interviews with faculty and staff
[Spring 04 – Interview Protocol A]

2. Email, written feedback to administrators

3. Participant observation/field notes

1. What conditions support or hinder the implementation of innovative teaching practices?

2. How can these climate conditions be assessed?

1. Personal accounts of (a) one example where they implemented a learning-centered practice, and (b) one example where they will be unable to implement a learning-centered practice. Participants will be asked to provide narrative or the circumstances surrounding both examples.
[Faculty Interviews– Spring 04-Fall 05]

2. Available documents.

1. What is the impact of organizational renewal on climate conditions?
[Spring 04, 05 , 06]

Available documents (surveys, faculty portfolios, faculty best practices, participant observation, elite interviewing).

1. How do faculty conceptualize critical thinking?

2. To what extent are faculty members incorporating critical thinking skills and activities into their teaching?

3. How many faculty have developed strong profiles with regard to implementing critical thinking skills?

4. What activities do faculty report effectively contribute to the development of critical thinking skills?

5. To what extent are critical thinking strategies explicitly taught?

6. What aspects of professional development activities do faculty members identify as helpful in implementing critical thinking strategies?

7. What aspects of critical thinking do students display in their responses to assignments?

8. What instructional techniques do students identify as being the most useful to their understanding of course content?

1. Interviews with faculty and students
[Interview Protocol B]

2. Student Evaluation (SIR II) [Fall 03]

3. Faculty Portfolios [Spring 04]

1. What changes have occurred with respect to:

a. How faculty conceptualize critical thinking?

b. How faculty members incorporate critical thinking skills and activities into their teaching?

c. What activities faculty members report that contribute to the development of critical thinking skills?

d. What extent are critical thinking strategies explicitly taught?

e. What aspects of professional development activities do faculty members identify as helpful in implementing critical thinking strategies?

f. What aspects of critical thinking do students display in their responses to assignments?

g. What instructional techniques do students identify as being the most useful to their understanding of course content?

1. Interviews with faculty and students.
[Faculty Interview– Spring 04, 05, 06]

2. Student Evaluations (SIR II)[Spring 05, 06]

3. Faculty portfolios[Spring 05, 06]

4. Personal accounts of (a) one example where they changed teaching to address critical thinking on a daily basis, and (b) one major project that addresses critical thinking. [Fall 03, 04 , 05]

5. CCSSE [Spring 04, 05, 06]

6. Other available documents

1. How have faculty and staff applied and refined the learning model? What improvements upon the model, innovations, or creative practices have emerged in ways that extend the learning model? (knowledge creation)

2. To what extent has student learning improved as a result of implementing critical thinking activities?

Available documents (surveys, faculty portfolios, faculty best practices, participant observation, elite interviewing, CCSSE, SIRII, institutional portfolio) [Spring 04, 05, 06]

1. How do faculty define general education outcomes?

2. To what extent can faculty and staff identify college-wide learning outcomes?

3. To what extent are faculty members incorporating learning outcomes into their teaching?

4. How have teaching practices changed in order to facilitate students’ acquiring general education competencies?

5. What aspects of professional development activities do faculty members identify as helpful in implementing general education outcome strategies?

1. Interviews with faculty and students [Spring 04]

2. Student Evaluations (SIR II) [Fall 03]

3. Faculty portfolios [Spring 04]

4. CCSSE [Spring 04]

5. Other available documents

1. What conditions support or hinder the implementation of the assessment model?

2. What changes have occurred with respect to:

a. How faculty define general education outcomes?

b. What extent faculty and staff identify college-wide learning outcomes?

c. What extent faculty members incorporate learning outcomes into their teaching?

d. What aspects of professional development activities faculty identify as helpful in implementing assessment strategies?

1. Interviews with faculty and students [Spring 04, 05, 06]

2. Student Evaluations (SIR II) [Spring 04, 05, 06]

3. Faculty portfolios [Spring 04, 05, 06]

4. CCSSE [Spring 04, 05, 06]

5. Other available documents

1. To what extent are the college-wide learning outcomes integrated across the curriculum?

2. How have teaching practices changed as a result of implementing the institutional portfolio model?

3. To what extent has student learning improved as a result of implementing the institutional portfolio model?

Available documents (surveys, faculty portfolios, faculty best practices, participant observation, elite interviewing CCSSE, SIRII, institutional portfolio) [Spring 04, 05, 06]