Chapter 5: Making an Impact: A Self-Determination Theory-Based Approach to FLCs

Launched in 2011, the IMPACT program is a faculty development program centered around a faculty learning community with the primary goal of creating student-centered teaching and learning environments. The IMPACT program is a collaborative partnership of many units on campus, bringing together expertise in pedagogy, technology, information literacy, online learning, and program evaluation. Over the last 10 years, 420 faculty have participated in 20 semester-long FLCs focused on redesigning 427 courses. While the IMPACT program has evolved throughout the years, the strength of the program derives from its strong theoretical framework based in self-determination theory (SDT), a humanistic theory of motivation which is supported by over 40 years of empirical research. The foundations of SDT propose that satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and related-ness leads to more internalized forms of motivation and fosters student learning and achievement. Drawing on SDT, the IMPACT program aims to model an autonomy-supportive learning environment which empowers faculty to provide students with volition and choice, assessments which demonstrate learning, and opportunities to build connections with their faculty and peers. This chapter will provide an overview of the current IMPACT program including the program framework and structure, assessment and evaluation of the program, and future directions that are currently in development.