Active Learning and Professional Development

  Summary of Park & Xu (2022)

Background & Existing Knowledge
While active learning is promoted widely, limited research explores the direct effects of professional development (PD) for instructors on student academic outcomes and persistence.

New Insights from This Study
✔ PD in active learning increased students’ likelihood of staying in their academic field.
✔ Faculty applied more active learning strategies post-training.
✔ Gains in student persistence outweighed modest grade improvements.

Practical Applications: How Educators Can Use This Research

Support Faculty Growth
📌 Offer sustained PD in active learning strategies.
📌 Include coaching, observation, and feedback cycles.
📌 Link training to course design improvements.

Enhance Student Retention
📌 Track student persistence by course and instructor.
📌 Use PD to reduce dropout rates in challenging fields.
📌 Align institutional goals with student support.

Strategic Implementation
📌 Prioritize departments with low student retention.
📌 Embed active learning into core courses.
📌 Evaluate PD impact with longitudinal data.

Conclusion
Professional development in active learning not only improves teaching but fosters student persistence, making it a high-impact investment for institutions.

Key Words
professional development, active learning, student persistence, faculty training, retention

Reference
Park, E. S., & Xu, D. (2022). The Effect of Active Learning Professional Development Training on College Students’ Academic Outcomes. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2022.2151954

Suggested Citation
Ross, E. M., & Malar, D. B. J. (2025). Active Learning and Professional Development. Excellent Educator, 2(10), 3.