From discourse to action. How Engineering university teachers in Chile develop professionally and transfer their learning into practice

Pedagogical training is widely regarded as an important tool in academic development and a fundamental element for improving teaching quality. Yet little evidence exists of the real impact that such training has in further developing teachers' teaching conceptions and practices, improving students' learning and in changing the institution’s learning culture in Latin-American universities. The Faculties of Engineering of the Universidad Católica del Norte (UCN) in Chile have developed a new curricular model and, respectively, a training program aiming to support academics in its implementation. This article presents part of the outcomes of research aimed at examining teachers' motivation towards training, the training's impact on changed conceptions and practices and its transfer potential. Results show that teachers are highly motivated, but no fundamental changes in teachers’ approaches to teaching take place after the program. Challenges to transfer are encountered in the teachers' individual capacity to transfer and in the institutional recognition.