Linked to professional development: Designing a network intervention to strengthen informal networks in a formal program

In this chapter, we argue for a networked approach to professional development. In particular, we propose that to increase the potential value and sustainability of professional development, we need to help instructors learn to recognize and access their teaching network. The teaching network of an instructor reflects the people with whom s/he interacts around instructional practice. We illustrate our argument with evidence from a research project using a social network approach to design an intervention. This chapter offers a step-by-step account of the design of this network intervention to strengthen the development of teaching networks. To examine the impact of the network intervention, we compared the network development of two groups of university instructors during a professional development program (in a networked and a nonnetworked design) over a 2-year timeframe. Our findings demonstrate that informal teaching networks can be strengthened in a formal program. These findings are promising and contribute to deepened understanding of how to foster and support teaching networks in light of professional development. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for university instructors and other educators, academic developers, academic department leaders, and policy makers.