HERDING CATS: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF FACULTY ADOPTION OF INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY

How do you motivate your faculty to competently use the instructional technology (IT) resources provided them by your institution? There is a relative dearth of empirical research into how and why end users (e.g. faculty) actually adopt IT. Billions of dollars have been invested into IT, by comparison empirical knowledge of the motivations of the consumers is inconsequential. This presentation will provide attendees with empirically validated assessment devices and a management model to understand and motivate faculty to adopt IT.

We have developed a social motivational/reward model which accounts for the majority of the variance found in faculty adoption rates. This model is grounded in social learning theory and is consistent with well established models of organizational management models used to train professionals. Findings from correlational and regression analyses validating our model will also be presented. Conference participants will be shown how they may apply this IT resource implementation management model in order to introduce, transform, and sustain major faculty related IT initiatives. Salient factors for designing and implementing such initiatives will be presented.

IT management does not only mean supervision of hardware and software but knowing how to interface effectively with the human element. To do so, one must have a viable model of human behavior that explains how an organization may get its end users (e.g., faculty) to adopt this technology. There are few models for how to motivate faculty to adopt IT. Existing models in the field tend to be speculative and undeveloped. In contrast, our model is supported by substantial empirical research. An in depth description of this model will be presented to participants. The model includes: how to create an organizational culture that values IT for teaching and learning; how to show administrative support through key practices and financial rewards, how to overcome frictions between academic divisions (e.g., academic affairs and IT); how to develop a strong IT adoptive institutional culture; and how to evaluate implementation effectiveness through a given set of assessment devices. This aspect of the presentation will be supplemented by the respective psychometric instruments participants could use to measure key variables such as the IT Self-Efficacy and the Attitudes Towards IT.

In this tight budgetary period, educational institutions must show that their organization can competently use the IT resources they are provided. This presentation shows and empirically validated model by which they can both attain and measure successful use of IT.