As the University of Maryland University College moves to a competency-based learning model, the role of faculty is evolving to capitalize on our faculty’s talents and experiences. Join us as we share our experiences from the development of the faculty role to the launch of our faculty training program.
Many universities are seeking ways to improve the learning outcomes and professional-relevancy of their degree programs. One visible result has been the rise of competency-based educational models. As the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) outlined its new competency based learning model, it became clear that to best serve our students, our approach had to capitalize on our faculty’s talents, strengths, knowledge, and experiences. As the model evolved during its implementation, so did the role of faculty. Starting with a a pilot program in 2015, where we introduced this new role to a small group of faculty in the undergraduate school, to where we are now ready to implement the new learning model in many programs throughout the graduate school, the role of our faculty continues to evolve.
Within any model, but perhaps more so in our new model, faculty are a crucial resource for students as they work through learning resources and complete projects to progress through each course Faculty will provide detailed constructive feedback on student work, often reviewing multiple submissions of the deliverables in each project, to ensure the student achieves proficiency of program competencies. Faculty will also communicate with their students more often and may utilize various technologies to do so.
This new approach—that students must achieve mastery in competencies prior to moving on to next class—also requires faculty to mentor and coach students along that path until they demonstrate this mastery. While allowing students to practice and repeat until they achieve mastery has always been an educational best practice (and is the dominant paradigm in fields such as composition & rhetoric), higher education has —too often—remained in the realm of high-stakes, one-shot assessment.
This presentation will focus on the process being used at UMUC to develop the faculty role and its concomitant faculty training. The goals for the presentation are to:
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Present information on the similarities, differences, and challenges in the evolving faculty role.
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Describe the faculty training and support models being designed and implemented to assist faculty in their new roles.
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Share lessons learned from the process of developing a new learning model, with particular emphasis on the role of faculty, faculty training and support.
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Discuss the integral role of our Program Chairs in training faculty.
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Highlight the UMUC experience gleaned from the new model launch, specifically feedback from faculty focus groups and from faculty in our initial pilot.