DE Oracle @ UMUC

Faculty Development at UMUC: What's New in CTL?

Dawn Kemp

Faculty Training Specialist

Center for Teaching and Learning

Published: July-August 2011

Category: » Fac-resources » Faculty-development

In today's educational climate, change is inevitable—and UMUC is no stranger to keeping up with the changes needed to stay current in higher education. The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is at the forefront of these changes, ensuring that UMUC faculty are prepared to meet the challenges of teaching in the early 21^st century. Some of CTL's major programs have recently been revised to keep up with the changing needs of both the School of Undergraduate Studies (SUS) and the Graduate School of Management and Technology (GSMT).

In the spring 2010, SUS underwent a major curriculum re-design for all 32 academic programs and made the decision to convert all undergraduate courses to a shortened eight-week semester by fall 2011. As a result, the need to re-design the current baseline training to assist faculty with the shorter semester and effectively use the new SUS Learning Model was essential. CTL, in collaboration with SUS and Course Development, created the new baseline training and a workshop based on the redesigned curriculum.

New Baseline Training

All newly hired UMUC faculty who are interested in teaching either online or hybrid courses will be required to take CTLU 101 Effective Undergraduate Teaching at UMUC or CTLA 600 WebTycho Training for Graduate Faculty. The new training courses will replace the existing baseline training, CTLA 201 Teaching with WebTycho, and will be shorter three-week trainings that focus on the essentials needed to teach at UMUC while also addressing the specific needs of each school.

Undergraduate Faculty Training

CTLU 101 Effective Undergraduate Teaching at UMUC is scheduled to launch this summer and will serve as the baseline training for all new faculty teaching for SUS stateside and overseas. The training will include a pre-week orientation to UMUC and WebTycho as well as a post week that provides additional resources to support ongoing teaching success.

The first week of the training will introduce participants to SUS's outcomes-based approach to program and course design, focusing on the skills students will be able to apply to the professional work world upon completion of their undergraduate studies. Week 1 will also include information about the SUS Learning Model, which describes effective instructional practices that are based on Chickering and Gamson's (1987) Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education and other important research as well as faculty guidelines and expectations for teaching online and hybrid courses effectively.

In week 2, participants will be exposed to the functions of WebTycho, with tutorials and opportunities to practice managing their online classroom. Participants will receive directions on how to design and manage online conference discussions and how to apply the SUS Learning Model principles to enhance student learning. The second week will also include techniques for keeping students engaged and on track during the shorter semester by using pacing and sequencing of content presentation, assessment, and feedback.

In the final week, participants will see many of UMUC's resources—including Library Services, the Effective Writing Center, CTL, and the new Teaching Guides—to enhance their course and support students’ success.

Graduate Faculty Training

With the redesign of the baseline training for SUS, it was necessary to create a new training for GSMT that would meet their needs in the same way. CTL recently began working with GSMT to redesign the baseline training for graduate faculty. This new training, tentatively entitled CTLA 600 WebTycho Training for Graduate Faculty, is scheduled to launch in late 2011. Topics covered in the training will include, but are not limited to, UMUC policies, Graduate School policies, faculty and student responsibilities, promoting good student interaction, providing feedback, and class management skills.

Faculty who have successfully completed CTLA 201 will not be required to complete CTLU 101 or CTLA 600; however, SUS faculty must take a new training course, CTLA 700 Re-Visioning for Fall 2011, before they can teach in the shortened eight-week semester.

New Required Training for SUS Faculty: CTLA 700 

All stateside and overseas online faculty teaching for SUS who have previously completed CTLA 201 Teaching with WebTycho will be required to take the new CTLA 700 Re-Visioning for Fall 2011 prior to teaching in the accelerated format. This mandatory six-day, self-paced training familiarizes participants with the new SUS Learning Model and guides faculty through the use of the new Teaching Guides to help them develop an effective plan for teaching in the fall when courses move to the new accelerated schedule. Workshop topics include teaching with outcomes, course outcomes and active learning, and engaging your students. SUS faculty scheduled to teach in fall 2011 and beyond will be invited to sign up for this training by their academic director once that they have been staffed to teach.

Enhancements to CTL Workshops and Other Offerings

CTL is pleased to announce a new look for its online workshops. The workshops will have a fresh appearance and format while ensuring easier navigation. Faculty can see the new look in CTLA 700 and CTLU 101 to start. Current plans are to convert all CTL workshops to this new format over the next year.

To meet the needs of the shift in the U.S. and overseas student population, CTL, in collaboration with SUS, is currently developing a self-paced workshop that will address just-in-time needs of teaching in hybrid format.

To address UMUC's large military student population, CTL has recently added a guest lecturer, Dr. Anni P. Baker, noted author on military affairs, to the workshop Working with Military Learners. Dr. Baker is currently the chair of the history department at Wheaton College.

Faculty can use the online referral sheet to select workshop topics based on feedback from their student evaluations.

CTL continues to offer its regular programs and services such as the Peer Mentoring Program, New Faculty Orientation, Faculty Professional Development Grants, and external workshop topics. The department is committed to enhancing all of these programs to meet the changing needs of the academic schools. If you have questions about these programs or would like to participate in their development, please e-mail Dawn Kemp. For more information visit CTL's faculty professional development programs and services Website.

Reference

Chickering, A. & Gamson, Z. (1987, March). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. American Association of Higher Education Bulletin, 39(7), 3-7.