Purdue University’s Instruction Matters: Purdue Academic Course Transformation (IMPACT) program is a faculty development program that supports instructors from all disciplines university-wide. IMPACT has continued to lead the way in large-scale faculty and course transformation for over a decade. Launched by the Office of the Provost in 2011, IMPACT is a large, collaborative initiative serving the Purdue West Lafayette and Indianapolis campuses.
IMPACT uses a cohort-based model built around a strong faculty learning community (FLC). The program is guided by the theoretical framework Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2017), which is a motivational theory that posits the existence of three basic psychological needs, which when fulfilled, contribute to the creation of a student-centered, autonomy-supportive learning environment. This environment fosters student engagement and competence and leads to increased attainment of course-specific learning outcomes, degree completion, retention, and graduation rates.
Our Mission
IMPACT supports instructors in enhancing their pedagogical practices to create autonomy-supportive and inclusive learning environments to foster student success.
Specifically, the IMPACT program supports faculty’s ability to:
- Implement pedagogical practices that are student-centered, autonomy-supportive, and engaging
- Create learning environments that are equitable and inclusive
- Adopt a scholarly approach to instruction and contribute to a community of practice
Versions of the Program
There are three versions of IMPACT in which instructors can participate:
Impact Semester
A 15-week program where instructors work in groups of 3-4 instructors and 2-3 support team members from the Innovative Learning Team. Participants apply with a course they are teaching and choose their own course design goal(s) to work toward over the semester. The culminating deliverables are creating and implementing a Course Design Plan that outlines instructors’ course learning outcomes, objectives, assessments, and activities. This option is open to instructors of record who are faculty or staff at Purdue WL or Indianapolis and comes with a $10,000 incentive to support their teaching.
Impact Month
An on-demand, hybrid option that can be tailored to specific initiatives. This 4-week program offers core IMPACT content via Brightspace and involves synchronous sessions where instructors discuss and engage in activities related to that week’s topic as a cohort. Departments or groups of instructors can request this offering by emailing impact@purdue.edu.
Impact Week
A fully remote experience with one week of facilitated, daily, drop-in discussions with colleagues and written feedback from the Innovative Learning Team. Instructors cover the key components of course design asynchronously, completing six reflection assignments. This is a great option for those who want an introduction to IMPACT, those who want a refresher after having done another IMPACT program, or those wanting an outside review of their course before teaching. This option is open to any instructor of record at Purdue WL or Indianapolis and comes with a $1,000 incentive to support their teaching.