Rate My Professor Cynthia Desrochers

Cynthia Desrochers is Professor Emerita of Elementary Education in the Michael D. Eisner College of Education at California State University, Northridge, a position she has held since joining the faculty in 1983. She earned a B.A. in 1971, an M.Ed. in 1972, and an Ed.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. Desrochers specializes in improving teaching and learning across K-16 levels, with expertise in effective instruction and assessment, cooperative learning, teaching strategies, peer coaching and supervision, active learning, classroom assessment techniques, the writing process, and strategies for college freshman success. As Director of the Institute for Teaching and Learning Excellence at CSUN from 1996 to 2005, she advanced faculty development initiatives and supported innovative pedagogical practices.

Desrochers has made significant contributions to faculty learning communities (FLCs) and peer coaching in higher education. She co-facilitated key FLCs, including the Five Gears project launched in 2015 to activate student learning through research-based strategies. Her scholarly work includes co-editing a trilogy on FLCs published by Information Age Publishing as part of the Transforming Teaching and Learning in Higher Education series, for which she has edited seven volumes overall. Notable titles encompass Faculty Learning Communities: Communities of Practice that Support, Inspire, Engage, and Transform Higher Education Classrooms (2024), featuring her co-authored chapter “The Nexus Between Faculty Learning Communities and Peer Coaching: Potentially Powerful Implementation Partners,” and Faculty Peer Coaching in Higher Education: Partnerships to Support Improved Instructional Practices (2023). These publications, totaling dozens of chapters across collaborators, promote equitable, antiracist teaching environments and faculty collaboration. Desrochers received CSUN's Honored Faculty Award in 1990, recognizing her impact on education. Her efforts continue to shape instructional excellence and professional growth in the field of Education at California State University, Northridge.