ACTION RESEARCH PLAN FOR IMPROVING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE QEP TRAINING/TEACHER MOTIVATION.
Project Description
My action research plan aims to explore the teacher’s perspectives and motivation regarding a faculty training program and offer a strategy to increase motivation. The Universidad de las Américas, Puebla (UDLA) is a Mexican private institution. In order to be accredited in the US, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools requires the institution to develop a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) regarding student learning, and show that is part of an ongoing planning and evaluation process. The plan is called: Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills in Our Undergraduate Students and it’s central theme involves three major aspects: an emphasis on critical thinking (CT); a focus on evaluating the CT of students through their writing; and an elaboration of teaching practices aimed at fostering CT. A faculty development program was formed and offered starting with 60 teachers who would teach first semester courses this fall. I worked in the planning and implementing of the first faculty training cycle. The results were not the expected and I believe that this had to do with the teachers’ lack of motivation. I am interested in this issue because I plan to continue working in that institution and it’s QEP. I believe that changes need to be done in order to improve the overall outcomes.