Object-oriented faculty development: Training teachers with learning objects

Object-oriented learning environments are becoming a popular way to deliver training to teachers of all educational levels. Not only do they teach the faculty members skills, but they also give them the experience of becoming a student---leaving them with information they can use in their own classrooms. Additionally, giving faculty members a chance to reflect on their own learning processes in such a program can enhance their experience in an object-oriented learning environment. Utilizing a population of faculty from various educational institutions, this study simulated a faculty development program that introduced teachers to Multiple Intelligences theory and then had them use a demonstration/simulation---a learning object that digitally demonstrates a task then asks the student to replicate it. To determine the effect studying Multiple Intelligences would have on those involved in such a program, half the participants were asked to first reflect on their own learning processes by taking a Multiple Intelligence inventory then work with the demonstration/simulation. The other half only worked with the demonstration/simulation. The results showed that teachers in a faculty development program who consider how they learn through an MI inventory then utilize an online learning object gain a better understanding of how the learning process works and how it can be incorporated into their development of online curriculum. The education community can benefit from the outcomes of this study by gaining a greater understanding of how to develop object-oriented faculty development programs and appropriate ways to implement them.