UC San Diego

This dissertation examines the efficacy of a professional development program in developing data literate and culturally proficient community college instructors. Existing research suggests that there is a need for high-quality professional development in Cultural Proficiency and data literacy for community college instructors to make continuous improvements in the classroom. As such, the Regional Consortium for the San Diego and Imperial Counties Community Colleges executed the inaugural Strong Workforce Faculty Institute in 2020—a professional development program aimed at 1) fostering strong collaboration and engagement among faculty, researchers, and deans; 2) encouraging self-reflection, inquiry, and research-based decision-making; and 3) inspiring teaching and learning from a culturally inclusive perspective. The first cohort began with 245 full-time and adjunct instructors in February 2020 and ended with 223 program completers in September 2020—a 91 percent completion rate. This study examines the conditions necessary for a professional development program to effectively train instructors to use student outcomes data for continuous improvements in culturally diverse classrooms and assesses to what extent the program met its goals and contributed to participants’ learning. Using mixed-methods research, this study analyzes quantitative data from survey responses and supplements the findings with qualitative information from interviews with participants. The findings will be used to improve future iterations of the Strong Workforce Faculty Institute specifically and to inform community college instructor professional development more broadly.