Exploring the experiences of faculty-led teams in conducting SFU teaching and learning development grant projects

Action research has been suggested as a useful way to support university faculty to improve teaching and learning. However, there seems to be little knowledge about how faculty (and other team members) experience the process of doing action research in a comprehensive way. In order to explore team members’ in-depth experience about what they learned and how they experienced conducting action research, this study investigated and documented two action research project teams that were supported through an initiative at Simon Fraser University, the Teaching and Learning Development Grant program (TLDG). Using case study methodology, multiple types of data were collected and analyzed through an iterative process. The results showed that all the team members perceived they had developed professional knowledge through participating in the projects. Most team members perceived a positive experience of teamwork as well as a satisfied experience in conducting action research. A few challenges and suggestions were also reported.