Excellent faculty development requires sound practice and a healthy dose of creativity. It also calls for a clear understanding of how a new generation of teachers approaches learning in diverse environments. This highly engaging session inspires new ideas and excitement about conducting quality professional development at institutions of all sizes.
Somewhere between an extensive powerpoint lecture on increasing engagement (yawn) and a virtual quest as part of a gamified scavenger hunt (yikes) lies a succesful approach for good new faculty onboarding and development. Just as teaching online is a process of discovery, knowledge and practice, so should be the development of the teacher. Incoming faculty have differing teaching and technical profiencies. They possess varying levels of comfort with platforms, systems, and tool integrations, regardless of age or learning methodology. And most new-to-teaching faculty have been raised and educated in the digital age, having experienced the good, bad and ugly of digital education as learners. This is formative in their approach to teaching with, in and through technology.
Designing effective training for such diversity requires innovative strategies. The old workshop model fails to inspire, while its trendier offspring, the lunch-and-learn session, does not invigorate. So, how do we meet the needs of the fresh, budding teacher? How do we harness the gale-force strength with which the digital elite enters the teaching arena and provide instructive disciplines to establish pedagogical practice?
This session will discuss how to meet new faculty where they are, help them identify their strengths and weaknesses, and instruct and guide them through influence rather than mandate. Participants will discover sound pedagogical models that they can adapt and emulate at their institutions.