The Compass Model to plan faculty development programs

Faculty development is an imperative if institutions are to develop professional and competent teachers, educators, researchers and leaders. Planning of faculty development currently focuses on meeting the perceived needs of staff and their interests. We would like to propose the Compass Model as a conceptual framework to plan faculty development, which was inspired by the interplay between intrinsic and extrinsic forces for learning, as outlined in the Self-Determination Theory (SDT). In planning faculty development, the Compass Model acknowledges four agendas (directions) from various stakeholders: Strategies (N), Competencies (E), Resources (S) and Wish lists (W). The model then describes four avenues for faculty development offerings (quadrants): Foundation (NE), Innovation (SE), Response (SW) and Motivation (NW) (i.e. outputs, activities). The model was compared theoretically with another approach to faculty development planning. It was then piloted as a quality measure for a current program to check for omissions or missed opportunities. We plan to use it in a multi-center study to compare approaches in faculty development planning in different contexts. We hope our model assists faculty developers to consider all stakeholders’ agendas when planning faculty development, beyond the current standard customer-based approach.