Higher education teachers’ professional learning: Process and outcome

• An analytic perspective on professional learning.
• A discussion of conditions that foster or hinder uptake of professional learning opportunities.
• Directions for future research and practice in the field of professional learning.

In this paper, we first offer an analytic perspective on the papers in this volume, framing our discussion within the context of academic development as a discipline and highlighting common lines that cut across the nine contributions. We then offer insights about the current state of research on the evaluation of academic development and suggest directions that are likely to advance our theoretical and empirical knowledge in this area and anchor us firmly in evidence-based practice. We suggest that clarifying the mechanisms of change when professional learning occurs and measuring the changes in student learning outcomes that are associated with professional learning are important avenues for future research.