Training and Development of Faculty: Experience of an Academic Staff Development Project during the Master's Program in Curriculum and University Teaching at ULACIT

Abstract

Continuous teacher training is a relevant aspect in the training of professionals of any kind. This experience systematization article addresses the implementation of a professional development project for academic staff of a higher education educational institution. As a starting point for strategic planning, the updating needs of a group of teachers from the Bachelor and Bachelor's degree in Social Studies Teaching at the Universidad Estatal a Distancia of Costa Rica (UNED) were determined through the preparation of a questionnaire that allowed obtaining information regarding the years of experience and the training received, giving importance to the topics to be developed in training required by the participants. Based on the information collected, it was decided to hold for four consecutive weeks, synchronous and asynchronous work sessions, with the assignment of deliverables, covering the requested topics. In each of these sessions, and throughout the weeks, participants were provided with talks, readings and other materials that strategically covered the content. At the end of the activities, the facilitating group analyzed the results obtained, which pointed out that there was little participation in both the synchronous meetings and in the presentation of the requested deliverables. The main result was that the facilitating group achieved a satisfactory organization, complying in a timely manner with each of the scheduled activities. However, participation was not as expected due to the multiple responsibilities of the participants.