Why faculty-Led instruction?

Guiding Question

Why should faculty lead instructional decisions rather than implement a prescribed curriculum?

Guiding Principles

Also

design decision

Faculty remain the instructional decision-makers throughout the Belonging by Design framework.
The framework provides assessment-informed resources rather than scripted lessons.
Faculty determine which instructional strategies best support the needs of their students.
Belonging by Design is designed to complement existing teaching rather than replace it.

Working Definition

Faculty-Led Instruction: Faculty-led instruction is an approach in which instructors use their professional judgment to assess classroom needs, select appropriate instructional strategies, facilitate learning experiences, and reflect on the impact of those decisions.

Within Belonging by Design, faculty are supported through resources and guidance while maintaining ownership of instructional decision-making.

Design Rationale

Problem

Faculty already use a wide range of instructional practices.
One prescribed curriculum is unlikely to meet the needs of every course or every group of students.
Students enter educator preparation with different strengths, experiences, and support needs.
Effective instruction requires responsiveness rather than uniformity.

Design Choice

Position faculty as instructional decision-makers.
Provide flexible resources instead of scripted lessons.
Encourage instructors to select strategies based on assessment data and classroom context.
Build upon existing instructional practice rather than requiring entirely new approaches.

Reasoning

Faculty know their students, courses, and contexts better than a standardized curriculum can.
Responsive instruction is more likely to meet student needs than predetermined lessons.
Supporting faculty expertise increases the likelihood of sustainable implementation.
The framework becomes adaptable across different educator preparation courses while maintaining a consistent design philosophy.

evidence & influences

leadership

Relevant Ideas

Adaptive Leadership emphasizes diagnosing the situation before selecting an appropriate response. Faculty assess classroom needs rather than assuming every class requires the same intervention.
Distributed Leadership recognizes leadership as shared across individuals rather than concentrated in a single authority. Faculty exercise leadership through instructional decision-making.
Servant Leadership focuses on supporting others by building capacity rather than controlling practice. The framework supports faculty through resources rather than prescribing instruction.
Team Leadership emphasizes creating conditions that enable groups to succeed. Faculty intentionally create classroom environments that support teamwork and belonging.

Leadership Perspectives

Adaptive Leadership
Distributed Leadership
Servant Leadership
Team Leadership

Questions to Explore

How do leadership theories conceptualize professional autonomy?
How might faculty decision-making influence students' experiences of teamwork and belonging?

learning theory

Relevant Ideas

Learning should be responsive to learners' needs.
Faculty facilitate rather than simply deliver instruction.
Reflection informs future instructional decisions.

belonging

Relevant Ideas

Belonging develops differently across classrooms.
Faculty create classroom conditions that influence connection, participation, and contribution.
Flexible implementation allows faculty to intentionally cultivate belonging within their own contexts.

asu resources

Relevant Resources

Next Education Workforce
Principled Innovation
Center for Whole Child
ASU Charter

Connections

Professional collaboration
Human-centered learning
Faculty innovation
Inclusive instructional practice

research evidence

Evidence I Have

Faculty interviews identified diverse approaches to teaching teamwork.
Faculty expressed interest in flexible resources rather than prescribed lessons.
Students described different instructional experiences across courses.
Existing practice provided a strong foundation for intentional teamwork instruction.

Evidence I Need

Faculty autonomy in instructional innovation
Responsive teaching in higher education
Faculty implementation of instructional frameworks

practical considerations

Faculty teach different courses with different learning outcomes.
Time available for implementation varies across instructors.
Flexible resources reduce implementation barriers.
The framework can complement existing assignments and instructional practices.

alternatives considered

Alternatives

Develop a scripted curriculum.
Require faculty to implement the same sequence of activities.
Create a stand-alone teamwork course.

Why Not Selected

Standardized implementation would reduce faculty autonomy and responsiveness.
Flexible implementation better reflects the diversity of educator preparation contexts.
Supporting faculty decision-making aligns with the design principles of the framework.

decision notes

Original Decision

The intervention was initially designed as a sequence of workshops delivered directly to students.

Revisions

Cycle 0 and Cycle 1 shifted the focus toward supporting faculty as instructional decision-makers. The intervention evolved into a flexible framework that provides assessment-informed resources while preserving faculty expertise.

Considerations

How much guidance is enough without becoming prescriptive?
How can implementation remain consistent while allowing flexibility across courses?

Current Stage

Emerging

Created

July 2026

Last Updated

July 2026

Next Steps

Expand connections to Distributed Leadership.
Add literature on faculty agency and instructional decision-making.
Review after pilot implementation.

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