Professional Development Plan
Professional development is an essential element for all instructors and leaders. The educational process is all about encouraging students to be life-long learners, and as instructors we should model that trait. This assignment encouraged us to develop a strategic plan for professional development, and also a specific lesson. This was a great assignment because it got me thinking about creative ideas for implementing professional development at my institution that can reach diverse learning preferences, and fit within time constraints of busy instructors.
Pathways to Learning
A Personalized Plan For Professional Development
Pathways to Learning is a personalized, professional development series for faculty at Chemeketa Community College. The year-long series will include topics on teaching and learning, along with techniques for technology integration in Online and Blended learning environments.
This program is based upon a survey conducted of online instructors in the spring of 2015. The survey identified three, key areas that instructors felt would benefit their teaching and learning; 1) Instructional Design, 2) Assessment & Content, 3) Technology Integration.
The survey also identified motivators for professional development. The top motivator as indicated by survey participants is professional growth, followed by relevance to the content, then location and proximity of the training, and lastly, timing of the training sessions. When asked to describe their ideal professional development opportunity, respondents top two choices were opportunities to practice new skills in the workshop, along with opportunities to update their online courses.
Because relevance to content was identified as one of the key motivators for professional development, participants will choose their path, identifying the technology components that they would like to learn about, and then implement into their online course(s).
Four professional development sessions will be offered each term and will include the following topics:
Summer Term
Fall Term
Winter Term
Spring Term
Summer Term
Learning Outcomes
Learner Demographics
Learners for this series of workshops will be Chemeketa Community College faculty. Learners’ instructional experience ranges from those who teach Career and Technical programs and those in General Education and Transfer. Attendance for professional development sessions is purely voluntary. Although this series is primarily for those teaching online, all instructors are encouraged to participate.
Location of Professional Development
When asked about the most beneficial professional development opportunities, the number one answer given by survey participants, was hands-on workshops. However due to the logistics of teaching schedules, learning will take place in a blended environment using the college’s learning management system, followed up with in-person learning. In-person learning will take place in the Tech Hub, a faculty development and training space located on the college’s Salem campus.
The Tech Hub is a part of Chemeketa Online, the eLearning and Academic Technology Department, and is comprised of three different learning spaces: a classroom, a computer lab, and soundbooth. The computer lab has 10 computer workstations, and 52” LCD monitor mounted on one wall that can be used for demonstration and presentation from any of the computers.
Learners will have hands-on access to audio and video equipment for recording and editing, digital cameras, and screen capture software. Learners will also have access to iPads and mobile applications for instructional purposes and practical use. Learners will also have access to college provided resources, including the LMS (Blackboard), Google applications, Kaltura streaming media server, and Adobe Connect software/server.
Session Length
Each topic will span an entire term (10 weeks). The online portion of each training will take learners about 2-4 hours to complete, and will be self-paced instruction. The in-person sessions will be 90 minutes and will be scheduled for a specific day and time within the term.
Trainer Information
The instructors for this workshop are all members with Chemeketa Online, and are a part of the Tech Hub faculty development team. The instructors have diverse backgrounds that include curriculum design, assessment practices, online instruction, and media production.
Obstacles / Concerns / Solutions
The primary obstacle to this program will be time, or the lack of it. Instructors who participate in the program will be adding professional development time on top of a full teaching schedule.
Another possible obstacle is location. The college district spans a tri-county area and instructors might be located at outreach locations. Offering professional development in a blended learning environment will be one way to offset restrictions to time and location. Scheduling considerations could also be made for in-person learning that include early evening or saturdays.
An additional obstacle could be the lack of compensation. Professional development time can be included into the normal workload for full-time faculty, whereas part-time instructors will be completing these sessions on their own time. College administration actively supports professional development, so determining a budget and compensating part-time instructors for their time will be the solution.
A Personalized Plan For Professional Development
Pathways to Learning is a personalized, professional development series for faculty at Chemeketa Community College. The year-long series will include topics on teaching and learning, along with techniques for technology integration in Online and Blended learning environments.
This program is based upon a survey conducted of online instructors in the spring of 2015. The survey identified three, key areas that instructors felt would benefit their teaching and learning; 1) Instructional Design, 2) Assessment & Content, 3) Technology Integration.
The survey also identified motivators for professional development. The top motivator as indicated by survey participants is professional growth, followed by relevance to the content, then location and proximity of the training, and lastly, timing of the training sessions. When asked to describe their ideal professional development opportunity, respondents top two choices were opportunities to practice new skills in the workshop, along with opportunities to update their online courses.
Because relevance to content was identified as one of the key motivators for professional development, participants will choose their path, identifying the technology components that they would like to learn about, and then implement into their online course(s).
Four professional development sessions will be offered each term and will include the following topics:
Summer Term
- Kickoff Session - Choosing a path & creating personal learning communities
- Introduction to Instructional Design
- Online Course Facilitation
- Assessing Student Learning: Going Beyond Multiple Choice
Fall Term
- Organizing Content/Creating Graphics
- Getting Started with Google Drive and Applications
- Creating Interactive Lessons with SoftChalk
- Creating Accessible Content
Winter Term
- ePortfolios for Reflection and Assessment
- Presentation Design: From Concept to Delivery
- Screen Capture 101
- Free Is Good Price: Implementing Open Education Resources
Spring Term
- Podcasting Like a Pro
- Virtual Field Trips That Are Like the Real Thing
- Go Mobile: Using iPads and mobile devices for teaching and learning.
- Synchronous Online Sessions (Adobe Connect and Blackboard Collaborate)
Summer Term
- Peer Evaluation of Course
- Self-Evaluation of Course
- Presentations
Learning Outcomes
- Learners will describe the instructional design process and identify ways to develop learning materials for an online or hybrid course.
- Learners will compare and contrast the different types of assessment methods, and identify benefits of each.
- Learners will implement new assessment methods into their online or hybrid course.
- Learners will describe different methods for online course facilitation and identify benefits of each method.
- Learners will implement online course facilitation principles and techniques into their online or hybrid courses.
- Learners will compare and contrast technology options for implementation into their online or hybrid course.
- Learners will analyze technology solutions and determine the most appropriate tool for their use.
- Learners will apply, and implement knowledge gained about technology. software, and their use, by creating materials for their online or hybrid courses.
- Learners will gain confidence with the implementation of technology and become peer-mentors to other college instructors.
Learner Demographics
Learners for this series of workshops will be Chemeketa Community College faculty. Learners’ instructional experience ranges from those who teach Career and Technical programs and those in General Education and Transfer. Attendance for professional development sessions is purely voluntary. Although this series is primarily for those teaching online, all instructors are encouraged to participate.
Location of Professional Development
When asked about the most beneficial professional development opportunities, the number one answer given by survey participants, was hands-on workshops. However due to the logistics of teaching schedules, learning will take place in a blended environment using the college’s learning management system, followed up with in-person learning. In-person learning will take place in the Tech Hub, a faculty development and training space located on the college’s Salem campus.
The Tech Hub is a part of Chemeketa Online, the eLearning and Academic Technology Department, and is comprised of three different learning spaces: a classroom, a computer lab, and soundbooth. The computer lab has 10 computer workstations, and 52” LCD monitor mounted on one wall that can be used for demonstration and presentation from any of the computers.
Learners will have hands-on access to audio and video equipment for recording and editing, digital cameras, and screen capture software. Learners will also have access to iPads and mobile applications for instructional purposes and practical use. Learners will also have access to college provided resources, including the LMS (Blackboard), Google applications, Kaltura streaming media server, and Adobe Connect software/server.
Session Length
Each topic will span an entire term (10 weeks). The online portion of each training will take learners about 2-4 hours to complete, and will be self-paced instruction. The in-person sessions will be 90 minutes and will be scheduled for a specific day and time within the term.
Trainer Information
The instructors for this workshop are all members with Chemeketa Online, and are a part of the Tech Hub faculty development team. The instructors have diverse backgrounds that include curriculum design, assessment practices, online instruction, and media production.
Obstacles / Concerns / Solutions
The primary obstacle to this program will be time, or the lack of it. Instructors who participate in the program will be adding professional development time on top of a full teaching schedule.
Another possible obstacle is location. The college district spans a tri-county area and instructors might be located at outreach locations. Offering professional development in a blended learning environment will be one way to offset restrictions to time and location. Scheduling considerations could also be made for in-person learning that include early evening or saturdays.
An additional obstacle could be the lack of compensation. Professional development time can be included into the normal workload for full-time faculty, whereas part-time instructors will be completing these sessions on their own time. College administration actively supports professional development, so determining a budget and compensating part-time instructors for their time will be the solution.