Faculty development programs are in serious need of revitalization. Inject new life into them by thinking outside the workshop.

This session will present how one institution reconceptualized its faculty development program. Our process began with the identification of the pedagogical, social, administrative, investigative and technological competences required for online teaching. Then, a survey was administered to the institution’s faculty to find out their development needs and preferences. Based on the survey’s results, we developed and integrated a number of experiences into the program. Learn how we reconceptualized the program at our institution by designing experiences such as a Virtual Community of Practice, a Best Practices showcase, a mentoring program, and interactive mini courses. Based on the survey’s results, we developed and integrated the following experiences into the program:

• A pool of resources (faculty and staff) that could contribute to the development program, either as content creators, workshop facilitators, or mentors.
• An online community of practice (OCoP) in the institution’s learning management system. The community includes spaces for exchanging ideas and best practices, as well as resources (webinars, tutorials, workshops, etc.) to support online teaching.
• A one-day, online, synchronous faculty development event at the beginning of the academic year.
• An online asynchronous event to showcase faculty’s Best Practices.
• Various online synchronous conferences for National Distance Learning Week.
• An online mentoring program to help faculty create interactive micro-lessons and resources for their courses.
• Various asynchronous and interactive mini courses that faculty can complete at their convenience.
• A Starter Kit for online faculty, with resources, checklists, and templates to help faculty set up their online courses.
• A Beta Testers program where faculty can experiment with technologies the institution is considering adopting.
• Surveys to evaluate the effectiveness and usability of the initiatives.

Several months into our implementation, faculty have expressed being satisfied with the content and format of these experiences. Most of these can be implemented at any institution. Leave the session with tools and resources to inject new life into your own faculty development program!

Presentation: Think Outside the Workshop: Revitalizing your Online Faculty Development Program
Presenter: Rolando J. Méndez Fernández, Director, Online Academic and Student Services, Inter American University of Puerto Rico

Moderator: Alexandra M. Pickett

Tracks: Online Admin/Leadership, Online Instructional Designers

DAY 1: Monday, February 28, 2022
11:30AM – 12:30PM