Professional development, shifting perspectives, and instructional change among community college anatomy and physiology instructors

Abstract

This paper presents community college (CC) instructors’ responses to the Community College Anatomy and Physiology Educational Research (CAPER) project, a professional development program focused on active learning and educational research. We engage with conceptual change theory to better understand why and how CC instructors shifted their perspectives toward active learning. Qualitative data indicate that the participating CC instructors experienced pedagogical discontentment, leading to increased positive beliefs about active learning and educational research. In addition, we find that CC instructors have continued their pursuit of pedagogical change and educational research through communities of practice, which provide positive learning environments.