INSTRUCTORS' EXPERIENCE OF CHANGING FROM A TRADITIONAL TO A PROBLEM-BASED CURRICULUM. Madeleine Foord-May* Physical Therapy, Simmons College, Boston, MA PURPOSE: Knowing how to plan a process of change can increase the likelihood of completing a successful change process. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to elucidate the experience of a PT faculty as they changed instructional methods. BACKGROUNDS/SIGNIFICANCE: Problem-based learning, or PBL, uses authentic clinical problems to address educational objectives. This method is attractive to many educators because the mode of learning mirrors actual clinical practice where the clinician responds to patient's problems which, in turn, serves as the stimulus for collecting and applying information. The use of authentic cases in problem-based instruction teaches students to structure their learning and organize information in ways that will be most useful to them in clinical practice. The cases are designed to incorporate the complexity and ambiguity found in practice, and introduce students to the multidisciplinary collaboration that will be expected of them. Problems are solved in small groups, so students develop skills of communication and teamwork. Students are responsible for directing their own preparation for each group meeting, so they become independent and self-directed learners. Finally, repeated practice at accessing and applying current scientific literature to the clinical case develops expertise at providing a base of evidence for clinical decision-making. To understand how an instructional change occurs in higher education, it is necessary to examine change at the level of the individual, as it is the individual instructors who ultimately deliver instruction to the students. Any study of change must also address the culture of the group into which the change will be introduced. The prevailing attitudes and beliefs of the culture will influence the successful implementation and preservation of the change. For this reason, individuals cannot be studied in isolation; the study must also consider the influence of the culture in which the individuals must function. A study of change in the academic setting must also consider the process of change at the organizational level, as even the most passionate and committed individual or small group cannot prolong change indefinitely without support from the organization. SUBJECTS: Seven PT faculty members who taught full time during the change in instructional approach served as a convenience sample. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The case study design included individual interviews, a focus group, and a review of a course syllabus for each instructor. All interviews and the focus group were audiotaped and transcribed. ANALYSES: The constant-comparative method was used to analyze the data. Nine descriptive themes were developed from the transcripts of the individual interviews and the focus group, and used to develop within case analyses of each participant's experience, and an across case analysis of the experience of the group. Course syllabi were analyzed to determine the degree to which faculty incorporate problem-based methods into their course. An audit trail was conducted by an experienced qualitative researcher. RESULTS: Nine themes descriptive of the experience of change emerged from the analyses: 1. the decision-making process 2. personal knowledge of PBL 3. partial adoption 4. peer support 5. administrative support 6. need for teaching change 7. values related to teaching and learning 8. barriers to use of PBL 9. significant response from the community. Analysis revealed that the personal change experienced by the instructors was different for those who adopted the change at the outset (early adopters) and the later adopters who joined the faculty while the change was in process. Successful change by the group as a whole depended on internal leadership and support from administrative forces outside of the group. Four factors which significantly affected the success of the change process included the individuals' perceived need to change, the availability of faculty development support, support and leadership from the administration, and the availability of credible feedback about the change in instructional methods. CONCLUSIONS: The success of a change process can be improved by planning for some elements essential to change. The presence of a change leader is essential for managing and progressing the change process to accommodate both early adopters and later adopters. During the process of change, providing a strong internal network of support is necessary to create a culture which accommodates each instructor's personal change, leading to the accumulation of sufficient support within the group to sustain the change. Furthermore, effective faculty development programs help to engage the instructors and build confidence in the new instructional methods. Finally, support from external sources provides the resources to promote and maintain the change process as well as the expectation of change. FUNDING SOURCE: None. Potential for gain: none. KEYWORDS: Instructional Methods, Change, behavior change Copyright 2009 by the American Physical Therapy Association. Requests for reprints should be directed to the corresponding author of the article. 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