Skip to content
  • About Us
    • About CCRC
    • CCRC Staff
    • Advisory Board
    • Biennial Report
    • Employment
    • Contact
    • About CCRC
    • CCRC Staff
    • Advisory Board
    • Biennial Report
    • Employment
    • Contact
  • News
    • CCRC in the News
    • Opinion
    • Press Releases
    • CCRC in the News
    • Opinion
    • Press Releases
  • Community College FAQs
  • Research Areas
    • Dual Enrollment
    • Developmental Education
    • Guided Pathways
    • Advising & Student Supports
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Transfer
    • Workforce Education
    • Dual Enrollment
    • Developmental Education
    • Guided Pathways
    • Advising & Student Supports
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Transfer
    • Workforce Education
  • Publications
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Policy Resources
    • Guided Pathways Workshops
    • Policy Resources
    • Guided Pathways Workshops
  • More
    • Events
    • Research Projects
    • Events
    • Research Projects
  • Overview
  • Important Dates
  • FAQs
  • Overview
  • Important Dates
  • FAQs
  • Overview
  • Important Dates
  • FAQs

Examining Faculty Questions to Facilitate Instructional Improvement in Higher Education

By Susan Bickerstaff & Maria S. Cormier
Many of the innovations that show promise for improving outcomes for underprepared community college students require instructors to make changes to their teaching practice. Little research explores the experiences of faculty teaching in reformed courses as related to their professional learning needs. Drawing on a multiyear qualitative study, this paper uses data from 100 faculty interviews to explore the questions they ask when teaching a new course. A key outcome of the analysis is a typology of questions that mirrors the stage of implementation. Through analysis of 20 observations of implementation activities, this paper also documents the learning opportunities made available to instructors and examines the extent to which these activities addressed their questions. This article appears in Studies in Educational Evaluation, vol. 46.
  • Scaling Innovation

Download Links

View article (subscription may be required)
September 2015

Related Publications

August 2021

Committing to Instructional Improvement in an Era of Community College Reform

September 2014

Redesigning Arithmetic for Student Success: Supporting Faculty to Teach in New Ways

February 2014

Faculty Orientations Toward Instructional Reform

Additional Resources

For more policy briefs and fact sheets, visit CCRC’s Policy Resources page.

Stay in Touch!

Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest on our research, including publications, blog posts, and upcoming events.
Subscribe

Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University
Box 174 | 525 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027

  • 212.678.3091
  • ccrc@columbia.edu
Facebook-f Twitter Linkedin Youtube Instagram

© 2025. All rights reserved.

RESEARCH AREAS

  • Dual Enrollment
  • Developmental Education
  • Guided Pathways
  • Advising & Student Supports
  • Teaching & Learning
  • Transfer
  • Workforce Education
  • Dual Enrollment
  • Developmental Education
  • Guided Pathways
  • Advising & Student Supports
  • Teaching & Learning
  • Transfer
  • Workforce Education
  • CC FAQs
  • About CCRC
  • Biennial Report
  • CCRC Staff
  • Employment
  • CC FAQs
  • About CCRC
  • Biennial Report
  • CCRC Staff
  • Employment
  • Publications
  • Blog
  • Policy Resources
  • Events
  • Publications
  • Blog
  • Policy Resources
  • Events
  • About Us
    • About CCRC
    • CCRC Staff
    • Advisory Board
    • Biennial Report
    • Employment
    • Contact
  • Research Areas
    • Dual Enrollment
    • Developmental Education
    • Guided Pathways
    • Advising & Student Supports
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Transfer
    • College to Career
  • Publications
  • Blog
  • Community College FAQs
  • News
    • CCRC in the News
    • Opinion
    • Press Releases
  • More
    • Events
    • Guided Pathways Workshops
    • Policy Resources
    • Research Projects