NEW!! – Teaching Faculty Scholars Program: Applications Extended Until August 19th!
Invitation For: Full-time regular teaching faculty members who are new, emerging, or who could benefit from a one-year cohort-based learning opportunity covering the essentials of university and scholarly teaching
The Teaching Faculty Scholars Program (TFSP) is a one year program committed to supporting teaching faculty interested in enhancing their knowledge and skills in effective university and scholarly teaching. Acknowledging the drawbacks of programs that offer only short-term or condensed support, the Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning (CIEL) is supporting full or part-time, regular teaching faculty deeply and continuously over a full year – to give them a concentrated learning experience. The focus is on further developing core skills, knowledge and values around designing effective learning experiences for students.
Participants will engage with and reflect on a variety of areas relevant to their professional growth as teaching faculty members. This program uses a blended method of delivery in order to maximize access for faculty, as well as to model online learning tools and platforms available to faculty and students at VIU. Portions of the program will be solely online and require participants to access resources, engage in discussions, watch videos and post thoughts in the online environment through a variety of tools. Portions of the program will be face-to-face and will involve exemplary and experienced teaching faculty from VIU co-facilitating sessions with CIEL on four key topics.
The Program Format
This program starts with a two-day conference: Teaching Faculty Scholars Program: Jump Start Conference on Tuesday, August 20 and Wednesday, August 21 at the Nanaimo campus. The conference will involve sessions related to building community in the classroom, getting started on the basics of good course design and lesson planning, integrating technology into teaching and learning, showcasing exemplary practices at VIU, and understanding effective assessment and evaluation techniques.
Participants are then supported throughout the year by participating in continued activities, exercises, sessions, and events related to teaching and learning at VIU. Teaching faculty will engage in facilitated mentorship both with curriculum, teaching, and learning specialists, exemplary faculty partners and other experts in the field. Participants will also engage in a number of learning series (see below). The program will culminate in a sharing event where participants will showcase their evolving e-portfolios and reflect on their year of teaching and learning.
Eligibility
The Teaching Faculty Scholars Program is open to any full or part-time faculty member who is employed at VIU who emails teachlearn@viu.ca explaining why they would like to be part of this program and the benefits they will derive from being in it. We will accept all interested applicants. It is also important to ensure you can participate in all the program’s activities with availability for the online components, being able to fully attend both the August 20 and 21 days and take part in four (3 hour) face-to-face learning sessions, a few lunch hour sessions and a culminating celebration (see dates below). Teaching faculty who complete the program will receive a certificate of participation.
Please note that this program is for full or part-time faculty members how have a continuing appointment, and that there will be other offerings for sessional instructors at a later time. Faculty coming from Cowichan or Powell River campuses will have travel and accommodation covered if required.
Fee
This program is free. All resources, materials, facilitation, food and activities are free.
Time Commitment and Program Components
Orientation and Basics of Teaching at VIU: online component August 22 – August 30 (approximately 2-3 hours)
- Teaching Handbook Basics
- Policies and Procedures
- Course Syllabi/Course Outline Components
- Getting Your Classroom and Teaching Materials Ready
- Technology and Learning Resources for Faculty
Two-Day Jump Start Conference: Tuesday, August 20 and Wednesday, August 21
- Both days face-to-face on Nanaimo Campus (Tues: 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.; Wed 9:00 – 4:30 p.m. – be there each day for 8:45 a.m. to get settled and have a coffee)
- Building Community and Your First Days of Classes
- Measurable Learning Objectives and Deep Learning
- Planning for Ways to Assess Student Learning
- Creating Useful Lesson Plans
- Technology Tools for Teaching
- Student Panel
- Exemplary Practices at VIU with Experienced Faculty
Four Learning Series, Lunchtime ePortfolio Sessions and Culminating Celebration
Series 1: Universal Design for Learning: How do you make learning accessible for all students?
- Online component: 3-4 hours
- Face to face component: Wednesday, October 16th,2013 (3:00 – 6:00 p.m. including dinner)
Series 2: Formative and Summative Assessment: How do you know your students have learned?
- Online component: 3-4 hours
- Face to face: Wednesday, December 4th, 2013(3:00 – 6:00 p.m. including dinner)
Series 3: Teaching and Learning Strategies: How do you plan lessons that scaffold learning through well-constructed learning opportunities to aid in deep learning?
- Online component: 3-4 hours
- Face to face: Wednesday, February 26th, 2014 (3:00 – 6:00 p.m. including dinner)
Series 4: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: How do you build an easy-to-do inquiry project into your own practice?
- Online component: 3-4 hours
- Face to face: Wednesday, April 16th, 2014(3:00 – 6:00 p.m. including dinner)
e-Portfolio Development
: Few lunch-time sessions throughout both semesters during times that work for participants
Culminating Celebration
Wednesday, May 7th 2014 (3:00 – 7:00 p.m. including dinner)
Outcomes: Teaching Faculty will:
- engage in critical and reflexive analyses of their pedagogy
- participate in teaching and learning activities and exercises related to course design, assessment, instruction methods, Universal Design for Learning, and online learning tools
- connect with new and exemplary faculty in order to build relevant and meaningful communities of practice related to their professional development
- access and engage with online teaching tools and platforms available to faculty and students at VIU
- learn how to create e-Portfolios in order to document and showcase their emerging and evolving understandings related to their teaching and learning identities.
- be introduced to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and what it means in terms of scholarly teaching, research into the learning sciences or engaging in an inquiry project related to your practice in the classroom
- comprehend key policies and procedures for teaching and learning at VIU