Using a Change Framework and Assessing Institutional Change: Lessons from Boise State University

In this highly interactive session, participants will be introduced to components of a change framework and related change theories that have been used successfully in a large-scale institutional STEM Education reform project at Boise State University. Over five years, with support from an NSF WIDER grant, we deployed Diane Dormant's CACAO model[i] (C=Change, A=Adopters, CA=Change Agents, and O=Organization) (Dormant, 2011) as a framework to achieve institutional transformation in teaching. The purpose of the project was to move beyond individual and isolated departmental pockets of adoption of evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs) by focusing on departmental conditions for change and the faculty adoption process. Workshop participants will explore important elements of the change process implemented at Boise State, with specific attention to the departmental and campus culture and climate, leadership support, faculty perceptions of factors that impede and promote transformations in teaching and learning, and the power of conversations and collaborations during the change process. We will explore how a clear (and bold) vision can help change agents keep efforts grounded and focused during the change process, while allowing activities to leverage disciplinary social networks, and accounting for departmental nuances. Participants will leave with concrete ideas for both implementation and assessment that can be applied in their institutional context.

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[i] Dormant, D. (2011). The chocolate model of change. San Bernardino, CA: Author.