What is Faculty Development? The knowledge and skills transfer from faculty to students forms the core of what education is all about. One of the most rewarding and important roles in a school is played by the department that strives to support those on the front line of education delivery: the teachers. Welcome to the role of faculty development!

In essence, faculty development is about supporting educators in their continuous growth as professionals, whether as teachers, researchers or academic leaders, to ultimately enhance the quality of learning they provide. This article offers insights on how faculty development should be considered a catalyst for promoting a culture of pedagogical innovation and creativity in higher education, benefitting not only the teaching and learning outcomes but the overall reputation of the school as a hub of societal impact.

The Basics of Faculty Development at EHL

At EHL the development of faculty is supported through training workshops centered on enhancing pedagogical competences, research and communication; individual coaching sessions; classroom observations and teaching & learning exchanges. Faculty development is essential for supporting faculty in acquiring and transforming their skills, which ultimately leads to the improvement, enrichment and update of faculty’s teaching practice, positively impacting the quality of students’ learning journey. Martha Sandoval, EHL Education Project Manager

Researcher or industry professional – at EHL, where theory and practice are equally valued, there are many avenues that lead to the lecturing theatre. While a Ph.D. is an incredible academic achievement, the training involved rarely focuses on teaching pedagogical methodologies and is often more centered on producing new findings in a specific domain. Similarly, an industry expert (e.g., a top chef, patisserie expert or stewarding manager from our preparatory year) might be new to vocational teaching and so needs to be put through the rigorous 90-hour teaching program provided by HES-SO. This training equips them with the fundamental pedagogical skills to teach in the classroom, adding an extra dimension to their industry knowhow. At its most basic, faculty development plays an important role in helping educators translate their expertise into effective teaching strategies.

Faculty Development – Key to Institutional Success

Investing in faculty development signals a commitment to academic excellence by making the continuous growth of faculty members a priority. Teaching is a demanding profession that requires stamina, planning and constant renewal of processes – in other words, methods that worked a few decades ago may no longer be considered effective or inspiring. Receiving support from a specific department whose role is to encourage pedagogical progress, results in teachers feeling more valued in a role that – done with creativity and passion – can change lives.

By investing in this continuous development, a school positions itself as a leader in academic innovation and helps to strengthen its competitive edge in the global education landscape, (which in today’s times is shifting faster than ever before). Furthermore, faculty growth helps to align teaching practices with evolving industry standards, ensuring that graduates are equipped with relevant modern-day skills and know-how. Though not solely about professional growth, faculty development should also be seen as a strategic pillar for building a vibrant academic community that reinforces the institution's overall vision, alongside the advancement of inspired, agile minds.

Today’s Knowledge Economy – New Role for the Teacher

In today’s rapidly evolving knowledge economy, teachers need to master more than just foundational pedagogical skills such as lesson planning, classroom management, assessment techniques, etc. While these traditional competencies remain essential, the expectations placed upon the educator are shifting. The role of the teacher today must be redefined to reflect the societal changes impacting the way knowledge transfer is made available and delivered in our increasingly digitized world.

The influx of tech tools has fundamentally altered the dynamics of the classroom and how the process of teaching and learning is carried out. With the overwhelming availability of online information, MOOC platforms, expanding classes and shrinking attention spans, the focus of what it really means to be a teacher is shifting. And yet, in its most essential form, I believe it should be about returning to a very simple, human-centric core element: guiding students to develop critical thinking and autonomous learning skills.

The new role of a teacher? Moving from knowledge provider to learning facilitator. Being a teacher today means empowering students to navigate, analyze and make sense of our modern world. It implies going beyond the mere transmission of facts, delivering knowledge in parallel with a sense of agency and vision. This style of transformative teaching is hugely dependent on innovative pedagogy to support it.

Pedagogical Innovation – Transformative Examples from EHL

In light of this shift in the teacher role, faculty development must therefore start to expand its scope towards offering a wider, more holistic type of support. Pedagogical innovation should be encouraged and rewarded, but rather than being expected to focus on purely tech and AI, it should be used with self-awareness and creativity as its cornerstone. The two complementary forces of tech advancement and human connection need to be expanded so classrooms can reach their full potential. But first, much depends on understanding who you are as a teacher and the experiential impact this has on the learner journey.

Some inspiring examples currently in practice at EHL:

1. Self-awareness

The process of self-awareness for a teacher means analyzing personality, strengths and weaknesses to ultimately define one’s teaching style. Being a good teacher requires not only subject expertise but also an awareness of one’s own identity and biases as an educator. The capacity for critical introspection, combined with the ability to instill soft skills like empathy, communication and teamwork among the class is vital for creating the human connection that makes learning memorable – especially necessary in our increasingly digitalized environments.

EHL’s Dr. Sebastien Fernandez, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior, has recently developed a self-assessment form to help understand one’s teaching ‘signature’, i.e., a teaching style or personality which is broken down into measurable compartments so that both teachers and students are better equipped for evaluations upon which improvement and progress depends. To promote self-reflection and development for faculty members, his model lists dimensions for assessment ranging from preparation and rigor to novelty and enthusiasm.

Lecturing becomes as much an art as a science; teachers must find the right balance between several disciplines: engaging others, responding to questions and concerns, and preparing well-crafted material and exercises. Dr. Sébastien Fernandez

For me, as Head of Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development, this is a great example of pedagogical innovation that is both simple and impactful, driven by a psychological curiosity to develop self-awareness of one’s teaching behaviors. This introspective approach helps acquire a more human-centric dimension that, alongside expertise and planning, ensures the teaching connects with students on a personal and memorable level.

2. Creativity and collaboration in safe spaces

Encouraging creativity and mutual support among faculty members should be a key pillar of faculty development – as essential as any digital advancement. Making room for the creative muscle requires negotiation with the common constraints faced by teachers: rigid curricula, performance pressures and time limitations. To nurture a more inventive environment, faculty development programs should incentivize activities that promote experimentation and interdisciplinarity. Expanding beyond the familiar disciplinary structures and comfort zones is easier when part of a structured reward system.

Pedagogical innovation thrives when educators come together to share ideas and learn from one another, preferably in an environment where experimentation is part of the company culture – this includes getting things wrong as much as nailing win-wins first time around. Daring to think outside of the box depends on whether there’s a foundation of trust that supports both success and failure. Faculty development should focus on creating safe spaces where educators feel invited to try out new approaches without fear of judgment. A redefinition of failure as part of the learning and creative process is crucial, allowing faculty and students alike to grow through experimentation and reflection.

At EHL, faculty members are encouraged to take on a variety of peer-to-peer supporting roles. Course representatives are there to assist faculty members in their domain; specifically, we have 11 “pedagogical peer coaches” who help their colleagues with specific teaching-related questions. This provides them with a regular pedagogical sounding board for trying out new ideas or getting advice on methods that no longer seem to be working.

As a peer pedagogical coach, I support colleagues in being authentic in teaching, enjoying the art of giving, and finding energy from teaching. Together, we improve both the reality and perception of teaching and learning, enhancing the whole educational experience at EHL. For me, it’s a chance to share my experience and expertise, grow alongside others, and contribute to a culture where everyone thrives. Petar Zivkovic, EHL Senior Lecturer of Statistics and pedagogical peer coach

We recently launched a pedagogical innovation initiative for faculty members to present their novel teaching methods at the Faculty Welcome Sessions and during regular teaching learning exchanges. Similarly, EHL’s annual Scholarship of Teaching Learning (SoTL) shines a spotlight on emerging pedagogical practices across disciplines in higher education to prepare a new generation of lifelong learners. Transformative pedagogy thrives in environments where educators can model creativity to their peers and students, so that both can engage in exploratory, collaborative activities.

3. Balanced tech

While technology has long been touted as the key to educational innovation, in my opinion, it should not be relied upon as the sole solution. A truly innovative educator can be just as impactful without the latest tools, especially in smaller, more intimate classroom settings. That being said, in large lecture halls, technology can indeed enhance learning by better managing interaction and engagement at scale.

A notable example of tech-driven pedagogical innovation at EHL is our virtual reality (VR) housekeeping project, developed by first-year administrators and faculty. This initiative allows students to virtually step into a five-star hotel room as housekeepers, performing detailed checks and taking corrective measures to ensure cleanliness. Not only did this project help students understand hospitality operations more tangibly, but it also earned an award for its innovative full-immersion approach to learning during the Covid lockdowns.

Equally innovative, Associate Professor René Woltering has recently devised an AI learning assistant, equipped with course-specific knowledge and teacher-curated pedagogical instructions to provide 24/7 learning support to students outside the classroom.

These initiatives demonstrate that the use of technology in the classroom can certainly have a novelty-factor, but more importantly, it must be about how well it supports the greater teaching objectives. Contemporary faculty development should therefore equip educators with the tools and creative mindset required to harness these technologies and, more importantly, transform them into learning experiences that cultivate deeper engagement. By doing so, we enable teachers to use technology as a tool to enhance, not overshadow, their core mission of nurturing human connection and guiding students toward independent, reflective learning.

Why Faculty Development Matters to me?

Effective teaching is essentially based on the art of making strategic choices – i.e., what teaching method best suits the required learning outcomes? The role of faculty development is to expand the scope of how those strategic choices can be made in an ever-changing educational landscape; for this reason, it should form a consistent part of the academic ecosystem. It must be seen as a continuous opportunity for creative thinking and process-oriented teaching.

The importance of faculty development within an institute of higher learning is sometimes side-stepped by upper management because it requires time and budget, but in reality, it deserves to be placed at the center of all strategic higher education discussions. I believe it is worth this investment, since innovative pedagogies are what drive the quality of education, student satisfaction and, consequently, the reputation of the school.

Overlooking the importance of faculty development means ignoring the transformative power of education and those who deliver it.

EHL Hospitality Business School
Communications Department
+41 21 785 1354
EHL

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