Leaders as Teachers: The U.S. GAO’s Adjunct Faculty Program Expands Auditors’ Capacities

Author: Kevin Copping, Adjunct Faculty Program Manager, U.S. GAO

“Docendo discimus.” When we teach, we learn. Has your Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) considered developing a “Leaders-as-Teachers” program?

Under a Leaders-as-Teachers program, experienced analysts and auditors step into the classroom to teach newer staff how to perform key audit tasks. Effective teaching by experienced auditors who have “been there and done that” helps staff to learn, remember, and, most importantly, apply the course material. Building on adult learning principles that adults learn best when they are interested and involved, instructors facilitate discussion of the material through thoughtful, probing questions and they teach using dynamic, on-point lectures, vivid language, illustrative examples, and storytelling with messages that stick. The result is curious, engaged learners who are excited to learn more about the topic. 

When an SAI implements a Leaders-as-Teachers program, instructors hone their competencies in collaboration, influence, and inclusiveness; newer staff feel more engaged and learn SAI-specific skills and knowledge; and the SAI benefits from the organizational growth that comes from fostering a culture of learning.(1) SAIs also benefit because their training centers do not need to detail staff away from audit work for long periods of time or seek outside contract support to teach the classes. 

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has had a Leaders-as-Teachers program, or “Adjunct Faculty Program,” in place for nearly 20 years.  Under this program, more than 200 certified instructors teach classes on topics ranging from internal controls and report message development to thinking on your feet in difficult situations and providing effective feedback. GAO’s instructors also teach courses on leadership; applied computer skills; research methods; and other cross-cutting professional topics. Unlike in a train-the-trainer program in which instructors learn how to teach specific content, instructors come to the Adjunct Faculty program with expertise on a particular subject matter but focus on becoming proficient in adult learning theories and teaching techniques that they can apply in multiple courses. 

It all starts with GAO’s learning culture. To meet GAO’s Government Auditing Standards (the “Yellow Book”) requirement that all of GAO’s 2,580 analyst staff obtain continuing professional education credits every year, GAO’s Learning Center develops in-person, virtual, and hybrid courses that range from 1 to 16 hours; e-learnings; training materials; tip sheets; and more. In GAO’s fiscal year 2023, the Learning Center sponsored more than 800 class sessions. While Learning Center staff and contractors teach some classes, more than half of the classes are taught by certified instructors in the Adjunct Faculty Program.

To solicit staff to be instructors, the Adjunct Faculty Program Manager(2) conducts a yearly “Open Season” process in which interested staff with relevant expertise obtain management approval and submit an application that details their interest in teaching. The Learning Center then selects qualified staff to enter the program. To prepare staff to teach, the Adjunct Faculty Program requires participation in a 10-hour course on adult learning theory and techniques, taught by the Adjunct Faculty Program Manager, over 2 days. The instruction focuses on four performance standards: setting the stage for effective learning, presenting information in an easy-to-understand manner, facilitating participation so that participants are actively involved in their learning, and managing classroom challenges with poise.(3) The participants then try out their teaching skills in a practicum session in which they teach a 15-minute segment from their “target class” and receive immediate feedback from their peers in the session and from the Adjunct Faculty Program Manager. The feedback is in the form of “glows” that highlight what the instructor did well and “grows” that highlight areas for instructor improvement. In the week following the practice session, the staff view a recording of their session and send the Adjunct Faculty Program Manager their reflections on the session. 

After completing the training, over the next year, new instructors:

• observe an experienced instructor teach the target class and take notes on the teaching techniques they see in use, 
• teach the class once or twice,
• teach again and are observed by the Adjunct Faculty Program Manager or designee for certification based on the performance standards, and
• participate in in a 1-hour coaching and feedback session.

After this session, new instructors are either certified or observed again if they need to improve particular skills. Once certified, instructors are expected to teach at least twice a year to maintain their status. When the instructor has taught 100 hours or more, the instructor can apply for certification as a Senior Instructor. 

After the initial training and certification, the Adjunct Faculty Program supports instructors with continuing education opportunities through:

• An Advanced Instruction Curriculum. Instructors can take classes that help them to deepen their knowledge of adult learning theory and sharpen their teaching techniques. Topics for these 1-hour sessions include facilitation techniques, storytelling, effective debriefing, and using evaluations to improve teaching.  
• A Lunch-and-Learn Series on Topics in Adult Learning. This is a series of workshops in which one instructor researches an aspect of adult learning and works with the Adjunct Faculty Program Manager to create a session for eight instructor participants. Past topics have included the expert effect, learning myths, the beginner’s mind, cognitive science and learning, and emotional intelligence and learning.  
• An Instructor Toolbox. The Adjunct Faculty Program has 33 “Instructor Tools” or tip sheets that are available on-demand on the GAO intranet to remind instructors who are preparing to teach about adult learning theories and techniques. 
• An Instructor Newsletter. The Adjunct Faculty Program issues a monthly Instructor Newsletter with teaching tips, spotlights on specific Instructor Tools, and links to articles on teaching and program news. 
• Opportunities for Feedback, Coaching, and Check-in Observations.  Certified Instructors can arrange to be observed any time they teach. In addition, every 3 years the Learning Center’s automated learning management system informs instructors that they are due for a “Check-in Observation” when the Adjunct Faculty Program Manager will observe them and provide a feedback and coaching session. 

Are you interested in setting up an Adjunct Faculty Program at your SAI? Would you like to see a more detailed program description? Contact Ruth Strande, Chief Learning Officer, U.S. Government Accountability Office by emailing media@gao.gov.