Staff Development at College of the Redwoods

Potential FY 09-10 Faculty and Staff Development Workshops

The folliwng draft ongoing development classess/sessions are open to all staff and faculty.
September

Introduction/Tools and Techniques of being an Adjunct or New Instructor
Attendees will get ideas on how to set up their classes and use various tools to stay organized. The focus of this session will be on planning, record keeping, and using available resources to harness the logistics of teaching.

Classroom Management
From a student’s perspective, what kinds of things tell you that a classroom is comfortable, welcoming, and smoothly functioning? This short workshop explores strategies that you can use to create a well-managed student-centered classroom.

Employee Policies and Procedures
This session will cover a variety of topics that every instructor should understand and be aware of. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• ADA and sexual harassment
• At risk students
• Posting and submitting grades/getting paid
• Planned and unplanned instructor absences/class cancellations
• Field trips
• Attendance at meetings/in-services

Facilitating Student Learning in the Online Environment.  This workshop focuses on how to be an effective online instructor within an already developed course. You will have the experience of being an online student while learning and practicing skills for moderating discussions, encouraging deep learning in an asynchronous environment, managing the online tool set, managing your time, setting expectations with students, and mentoring your students through the online learning experience in both synchronous and asynchronous using proven best practices.  In addition, you will learn and be tested on CR virtual campus policies for online faculty including contact frequency, feedback expectations, handling special needs/requests from students, required office hours, and grading.  Completion of this module is recommended before you can teach an existing online class.  (~ 10 hours of actual time to complete)

October
Learning Styles
How do you learn best? Do you learn best sitting in a chair, or working in a pair? Reading a book from the shelf, or figuring things out for your self? Listening to a presentation, or preparing a speech to the nation? Reflecting on information in your own quiet way, or building new things out of modeling clay? Our learners come to us with various gifts and ways they learn best.

Introduction to Curriculum Design
A conceptual overview of what curriculum is, why it’s important to follow when developed for a program course, and how to use curriculum effectively to guide a course.

Facilitating Student Learning in the Online Environment.  This workshop focuses on how to be an effective online instructor within an already developed course. You will have the experience of being an online student while learning and practicing skills for moderating discussions, encouraging deep learning in an asynchronous environment, managing the online tool set, managing your time, setting expectations with students, and mentoring your students through the online learning experience in both synchronous and asynchronous using proven best practices.  In addition, you will learn and be tested on CR virtual campus policies for online faculty including contact frequency, feedback expectations, handling special needs/requests from students, required office hours, and grading.  Completion of this module is recommended before you can teach an existing online class.  (~ 10 hours of actual time to complete)

November

Active and Interactive Learning
Good practice uses active learning techniques – learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much by sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorizing prepackaged assignments, and spitting out answers. They must talk about what they are learning, write reflectively about it, relate it to past experiences, and apply it to their daily lives.

Technology in the Classroom
Discuss ways in which technology can be used as a tool to support and enhance learning in your classes. Explore various types of technology tools and strategies as well as available training and coaching – what they are, where to get them, how to use them and who can help.

Translating A Course From the Classroom to the Online Environment.  Most faculty are very familiar with the face-to-face teaching and learning environment either from their own college experience or because they’ve already been teaching on a campus.  The difficulty comes when they try to imagine how to accomplish the same goals and outcomes when they never see a student or are dependent on face-to-face interaction.  This workshop will help you to rethink delivery methods in light of online technologies and ADA requirements for online courses.  You will work through a class you are currently teaching face-to-face to translate it for online delivery, including development of student learning activities that will still meet your outcomes and provide an equal or better quality experience for the diversity of students needing online courses. You will be working with an instructional designer and peers during this workshop. Completion of this module is recommended before a course can be redesigned for online learning.  (~ 15 hours of actual time to complete)

January

Portfolio Preparation
Have you ever thought of preparing a professional portfolio to showcase your teaching excellence, professional involvement and accomplishments? This workshop will provide simple guidelines for designing and preparing a portfolio you can use throughout your teaching career.

Safety/Health Issues
The following topics will be covered in this class:

• Bomb and/or security threats
• Safety, hours of building operation – when you may or may not be on campus, escorts to/from car
• How to deal with classroom disturbances
• Medical emergencies, students’ needs
• Evening services and resources

February

Assessment
How do you know if your students are progressing in their learning – without formally testing everything they study? This workshop will focus on using selected Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) and learning objects to assess learning as part of the learning/teaching experience.

Assessment Strategies for the Online Environment.  One of the most difficult design dilemmas in providing effective online courses is designing appropriate evaluations that accurately assess learning and can be tied directly to the learning outcomes defined for the course and/or programs of study. This workshop will prepare you to use best practices for selecting appropriate assessments and delivering them in a manner that will meet or exceed the course goals and outcomes.  You will practice designing a variety of assignments and exams, including: self-assessments; peer reviews; mid-term and final evaluations; and student contracted learning evaluation.  Included is a discussion on the availability of assessment tools, as well as the pros and cons for proctoring, plagiarism detection, and other means for  alleviating cheating and ensuring student identity. (~ 15 hours of actual time to complete)

March

Instructional Design for Online Delivery.  This workshop investigates advanced design options that help to improve the “good quality” online course and take it to the next level.  You must have completed the prior three modules or prove equivalent knowledge to be able to enroll in this workshop. If you are designing a new course or curriculum specifically for the online environment, then understanding these advanced options may be critical to making it effective.  Also, if you have a course that has requirements for face-to-face evaluation then these advanced options are needed to ensure objectives are met.  Examples of advanced options include, but are not limited to:  using webconferencing and webcams; designing online lab activities; building simulations of real-world environments;  using virtual worlds for field-trips and explorations of real and fantasy environments; gaming, and many more.  In this module, you will use your own proposed course/program to design every aspect of the online learning experience, including identification of technical resources and people you would need to help make the course become a reality.  An instructional designer will work with you from initial development of course outcomes and assessments, to the syllabus, interface design, and final evaluation.  (~30 hours to complete)

Learning Objects
Focuses on how to integrate learning objects into the learning/teaching process; this session includes ways to bring them into the classroom other than directly via the Web.

Clicker Technology. This workshop will explore what is known as personal response systems, or "clicker" technology.  The devices allow instructors to get a quick pulse on what students understand and what topics might need further review. They are also ways to inject some active engagement into the normally passive lecture-hall environment

April