Montgomery College

Rethinking What Changes Teaching

Higher education has never had more technology available to support teaching and learning. Learning management systems continue to evolve, artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how we work, and institutions are investing heavily in digital tools, accessibility, analytics, and instructional technologies. Yet one question continues to surface: Has all of this technology fundamentally changed teaching?

In my experience, technology alone rarely transforms teaching. It creates opportunities, but lasting change happens when institutions invest in the people who use those tools. That has been one of the biggest lessons we've learned at Montgomery College.

Several years ago, our Center for Teaching and Learning began shifting away from thinking about professional development as a series of workshops or technology training. Workshops still have value, but we recognized that a one-hour session is rarely enough to change someone's teaching practice. Faculty grow through trying new ideas, reflecting on what worked, learning from colleagues and having access to support when they need it.

That realization led us to ask different questions. Instead of measuring success by the number of sessions we offered or attendance at an event, we started asking whether faculty felt more confident, whether they were trying new approaches in their classrooms and whether students were experiencing more engaging, inclusive and effective learning environments.

Building a Connected Professional Learning Model

Those questions changed how we designed our work. Today, our professional learning model is intentionally connected. The Academy for Teaching Transformation supports new full-time faculty for over three years because developing as an educator doesn't happen in a single semester. Faculty Learning Communities provide space for colleagues from different disciplines to explore ideas together and learn from one another. Instructional designers partner with faculty on course redesign, while workshops, institutes, online resources and individual consultations provide support when and where it is needed.

Each initiative looks different, but they are all working toward the same goal: helping faculty become more effective teachers.

The same philosophy has guided our approach to technology. When Montgomery College transitioned to Blackboard Ultra, we intentionally avoided making the conversation about software features. Instead, we focused on how the platform could help faculty organize courses more clearly, improve communication with students, simplify navigation and create more engaging learning experiences.

“The real challenge for higher education isn't keeping up with technology. It's ensuring that our investment in faculty grows alongside it.”

We're taking a similar approach with artificial intelligence. Rather than asking faculty to learn another technology for the sake of learning it, we're exploring how AI can reduce administrative work, improve feedback, support course design and free faculty to spend more time on the parts of teaching that matter most: connecting with students and facilitating learning.

Accessibility has become another important example. Like many institutions, we're preparing for evolving digital accessibility expectations. It would have been easy to frame this work primarily around compliance. Instead, we've tried to keep the focus where it belongs, on teaching.

Through Montgomery College's Universal Design Center, we developed the CLEAR Framework, which encourages practical habits such as captioning videos, organizing courses logically, writing clearly, using alternative text for images and designing responsive learning materials. These aren't simply accessibility practices; they're characteristics of well-designed courses that benefit every student.

Teaching Excellence as a Shared Responsibility

Perhaps the biggest lesson from all of this is that teaching transformation isn't the responsibility of a single office. Centers for Teaching and Learning play an important role, but meaningful change happens when academic leaders, instructional designers, librarians, accessibility specialists, educational technologists and faculty all work toward a shared vision of teaching excellence.

That's where I believe CTLs can have their greatest impact. We are uniquely positioned to connect people, ideas and institutional priorities. When professional learning is aligned with a college's strategic goals rather than operating as a separate initiative, it becomes part of the institution's culture instead of another program faculty are asked to participate in.

Technology will continue to evolve. AI certainly won't be the last major innovation we encounter. The real challenge for higher education isn't keeping up with technology. It's ensuring that our investment in faculty grows alongside it. When we focus first on people and then on technology, innovation becomes more sustainable, more meaningful and ultimately more beneficial for the students we serve.