This project presents a best practice model for diagnosing and improving Learning Management System (LMS) adoption, a critical factor for supporting diverse and commuting students. Conducted at Hostos Community College, it uses a dual framework: Rogers’s Diffusion of Innovation Theory to understand the how of adoption, and Chickering’s Seven Principles of Good Practice to understand the pedagogical why.
Evidence of Success & Cost-Effectiveness: A faculty survey (n=17) provided quantifiable evidence. While innovation attributes like relative advantage (e.g., streamlined grading) are important, the strongest motivator is the LMS’s ability to enact Chickering’s principles, such as facilitating student-faculty contact (82.4% agreement) and prompt feedback (94.1% agreement). This model is highly cost-effective, leveraging existing resources (the LMS, survey tools) to refocus professional development toward high-impact, faculty-motivated training.
This framework provides a diagnostic tool for administrators. Instead of guessing why adoption lags, they can make data-informed decisions to target specific barriers (e.g., complexity) and leverage key motivators (e.g., pedagogical alignment), making strategic planning more effective.
The primary lesson is that promoting technology based on features alone is insufficient. The most powerful driver for faculty is pedagogical utility. Successful integration requires: 1) Reducing innovation barriers, and 2) Demonstrating how the LMS is a lever for achieving recognized principles of good teaching.