Everett Community College Academies Presentation Peg Balachowski & Alyson Indrunas Instruction Commission May 8, 2014 Creating a Faculty Institute

EvCC Professional Development Instruction Commission May

Peg Balachowski Faculty Mentor Everett Community College HOW TO BUILD A BETTER TEACHER

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5 Goals Development Focus Implementation Assessment Who Time Cost Results Materials

Instruction Commission May What are the qualities of a great teacher? Is formal training other than content expertise necessary for CC instructors? How do we nurture transformation and change in a risk-averse world? How do we encourage educators to embrace innovation, cope with change, and learn from failure or struggle?

Build teaching expertise Prevent “cave dwelling” Shift is from access to success Develop faculty who “disturb the universe” Instruction Commission May

MISSION STATEMENT The New Faculty Teaching Academy will serve as an agent for innovation and transformation, and will seek to foster excellence in teaching and learning practices. Toward this end, the Teaching Academy will be designed to provide opportunities for professional growth to new faculty. Instruction Commission May

A literature review revealed that: 1. Many faculty teach as they were taught 2. Many faculty development programs fail to make significant changes Instruction Commission May

Activities must include a range of activities to improve, renew, or assist new faculty in their varied roles. Opportunities for collaboration should be included. Instruction Commission May

Instruction Commission May Promoting innovation in the classroom; Facilitating paths to success in teaching and the development of exemplary teaching practices; Engagement; Developing opportunities for leadership.

The learning process does not come without risk. How do you develop 21 st century skills when most of us were educated with 20 th century pedagogies? Instruction Commission May

Orientation (2 days – Week 0) Begin developing the cohort community Begin developing the campus community Scavenger hunt on campus Instruction Commission May

Monthly meetings Participants present material from book to group Other critical discussion topics Instruction Commission May

Instruction Commission May Rich conversations Deep investment in transformative teaching Faculty interested in catalyzing student engagement Improvement in student evaluations

Instruction Commission May Pre-Survey Post-Survey Teaching Perspectives Inventory Personal Reflections

Instruction Commission May “Hearing and seeing how other faculty use classroom technology is really inspiring. Also, forming a contact with a person who has experience with the technology can be really beneficial when it comes time to troubleshoot an issue.” “The idea that the diversity of programs we represent is striking: commonalities abound about approaches to structuring courses and classes, challenges are similar.”

Instruction Commission May “There are partnerships that are developing out of these relationships that would never have been thought about let alone come to fruition without your vision to construct an academy this way. It's a wonderful example of thinking outside the box.” “This kind of ‘coming alongside’ new faculty at EvCC is powerful and empowering.”

Instruction Commission May “EvCC presents a culture of deliberate sustenance of new faculty - it speaks to value of person as learner/teacher and contribution to the college's mission, ‘one student at a time’.” “I was able to meet other instructors from different departments and I was able to walk away with actual changes and improvements to my courses ready for implementation.”

Instruction Commission May Orientation – 2 days Food – light breakfast each day Lunch each day; one lunch with Deans’ Council Beginning Fall 2014, cost of attending over 2 days (change in contract) at 30 hour rate ($41.11)

Instruction Commission May Welcome by President, VPI Discussion of strategic goals Policies Scavenger hunt

Instruction Commission May Enrollment Services, eLearning Alignment of core learning outcomes Center for Disability Services Library tour; Security scenarios Student evaluations (IDEA) Homework

Instruction Commission May Academic Year 14 faculty Academic Year 11 faculty Academic Year 8 faculty Materials How Learning $25/each Composition book for reflections Printing (minimal)

Instruction Commission May Personnel My time – 1/3 release as Faculty Mentor Additional Dean in Academy

Instruction Commission May Canvas course Modules for just in time issues Frequent contact with faculty to discuss student evaluations, professional development opportunities, networking, assessment, classroom management issues, teaching techniques

Instruction Commission May Doing, sharing, explaining, supporting, arguing, teaching each other…these reliably lead to learning. Interdisciplinary nature of Academy helps to break down silos. When people are respected as professionals they engage in their profession.

Instruction Commission May Faculty receive a strong start in their EvCC career during the orientation There is committed support with the availability of someone to answer questions and provide guidance as needed Faculty support each other

Alyson Indrunas, M.A., M.Ed. eLearning Director Everett Community College Mentoring Adjunct Faculty: Title III Best Practices

Nobody grows up thinking: “I want to be an adjunct when I grow up.” Instruction Commission May

ROI Instruction Commission May As we move towards a cultural norm in higher education of adjuncts carrying the brunt of teaching labor, there is a need to establish mentorship and support that currently does not exist. If we are going to be honest with ourselves about increasing student engagement and success, then we have to admit that we must change how we support teachers…the return-on-investment for institutional professional development is to advocate for mentoring, networking, and training adjunct faculty.

Associate Faculty Academy Share strategies from Everett Community College Collaborate with faculty members and encourage them to use online resources to improve student engagement and retention. Can two tenured faculty and one adjunct faculty, one dean, and a Director of eLearning create an online course to promote professional development for new adjunct faculty?

Associate Faculty Academy Overview The college received a five-year Title III grant which administrators initiated in fall 2012 to strengthen academic programs by improving course delivery. The project focused on instituting faculty development initiatives to expand Quality Matters assessments, use eLearning tools, and develop annual cohorts of newly-hired faculty. Four faculty mentors from three different disciplines led the effort, by providing training, one-to-one assistance, and assessment.

YEAR 1: Instruction Commission May Winter: QM Training Collaboration Spring: Brain Dump of Major Ideas 1 st cohort of faculty in Angel Summer: Instructional Designer Built Course in Canvas Fall: Second Cohort in Canvas

Year 2: Winter: Cohort 3 The word is out! Revision: Motivation and Follow-up Rethinking our requirements Revisions based on lessons learned Spring: New Lead on project

Lesson Learned? Be Creative! Instruction Commission May

The Classroom Where We Learned

The 21 st Century Classroom

Decades of Change

What is the Associate Faculty Academy?

How Do We Do It? The Associate Faculty Academy which will begin during their first quarter of employment and end with a self reflection after receiving the IDEA survey results from their first quarter. “New” faculty are defined as “new to EvCC.” Administrative Assistants will forward the names and course assignments to the Dean of Arts & Learning Resources within one week of hiring new associate faculty. These faculty will be contacted by the Arts & Learning Resources division office with the start date of the Academy and the name of their assigned Title III project mentor. The Academy will be conducted online through the Canvas learning management system. Upon successful completion of the activities, the associate faculty member will be compensated for eight hours of work at the special assignment rate ($41.11/hr).

Time and $ Investment On campus activities Orientation to the Academy (1.5 hours) Classroom management strategies & problem solving (1.5 hours) OL Activities LMS Canvas activities (8 hours) Faculty are invited to participate in two face-to- face meetings with the Title III mentors to foster broader discussions of instructional best practices, share useful pedagogy, and engage with the EvCC academic culture. Faculty will be compensated for their completion of these activities for a total of $500.

Main Goals for “New” Teachers By networking and collaborating with other faculty members in this course, we hope that teachers: 1] gain insightful information about the culture of Everett Community College 2] complete activities that are useful for their teaching 3] participate in cutting edge faculty professional development.

Course Objectives What do we want new faculty to know? Develop and Post course syllabus Develop and post to Canvas a course syllabus which includes EvCC established course objectives and outcomes Submit a BIT (Behavioral Intervention Team) Submit a BIT report to document student behavioral issues and concerns. Demonstrate Learning Objectives Alignment Demonstrate in the syllabus the alignment of student learning objectives with assessment strategies using Quality Matters standards

Objectives Continued Engage Students Engage students through the use of a welcome message in the Canvas classroom. Construct Gradebook Construct a Canvas Gradebook to provide student feedback. Select IDEA Form Objectives Select objectives on the IDEA survey faculty information form based on established course outcomes Write Reflection Complete a written reflection and assessment of the Academy.

How do we get started? A letter from the Dean of Arts and Learning Resources: “A big dog on campus cares about me!” Two key words in the letter from the dean: Upon completion of these activities, you will receive compensation for eight hours of work at the special assignment rate of $41.11 per hour. Lunch included!

Driven Teachers + New Campus =Overwhelming Experience

How do we start?

Associate Faculty Academy

Pre-Assessment

Post-Assessment

Pre-Assessment

Post-Assessment

Supporting New Teachers How did we put this together?

Syllabus Ten Essentials Day Zero for Teachers 1. Course Title, Schedule and Class Location 2. Instructor Information Include the instructor’s name, office location, hours, campus phone, and faculty address. 3. Textbooks and Other Materials List the textbooks and other materials required or recommended for the course. This section should also detail special equipment required or recommended. Include ISBN, author(s), edition, and year of publication for students who buy their books off-campus.

Day 1 for Students! 4. Course Description and Learning Objectives This section includes the course description and objectives taken verbatim from the current course information form. 5. Course Requirements This section describes what students are expected to do in the course. The narrative might include description of such things as participation in class activities, group work, readings, discussion, projects, tests, and other forms of assessment.

Syllabus Ten Essentials 6. Assessment and Grading Policy 7. Attendance and Participation Policy 8. Course Accessibility and Accommodations 9. Syllabus Caveat “This course is subject to change…” 10. Course Calendar/Course Outline

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Reality? Our grant will end. What then? You may be thinking, I don’t have a grant. What can I do? Organize the full-time faculty who consistently participate in professional development, and ask them if new part-timers can observe their courses. Classes that are on your LMS are ideal for this type asynchronous mentoring. Start with discussions about course design that are particular to your institution’s learning management system (LMS).

How do we institutionalize this? If there is funding available, compensate part-timers for attending trainings and demonstrations done by other faculty. I see these sessions as working in two complimentary ways. The full- timers get to showcase the goals they have for their departments, and part-time faculty are made to feel that their time and input are both valuable.

Use your homegrown talent! If you have professional development grants, then open those up to adjunct faculty who are using innovative teaching methods. While companies will often send their own product trainers to demonstrate such tools, it is perhaps more effective when teachers learn how to use them from each other, given that this more local interaction can then be followed up at will.

Interdepartmental Mentorships The teacher ego can be a fragile thing, and cross-disciplinary mentorship can enable teachers to talk about pedagogical practices without belaboring details of content. Encourage networking between departments beyond Welcome Week! Pay for innovative faculty to go to local conferences together as groups.

We have to change our thinking! Teachers who feel supported and valued transfer that satisfaction onto their students. Instead of seeing this task as daunting, we can facilitate professional development by understanding the symbiotic nature of student and teacher success. As we look for more ways to ensure student success, we have to think of ways to support teachers who have long-term goals and short-term contracts.

Access this EvCC PowerPoint: Alyson Indrunas, Director of eLearning NISOD Webinar on June 26, :00-12:00pm (PST) Peg Balachowski, Faculty Mentor Thank you for inviting us!

Q & A Instruction Commission May