Portfolio: Faculty Development
Summary of Faculty Development Planning and Activities
An original component of the job of Director, Teaching & Learning, the portfolio on faculty development was underdeveloped in the beginning. All efforts summarized below have been taken without budget and with only already-available talent. Substantial improvements have been earned in this portfolio toward active faculty engagement in faculty development and in cultivating a culture of continuous learning.
Faculty Development Highlights
(2022-2023)
In-service Days
The university holds pre-scheduled in-services days three times a year. Winter 2023, the format took the form of a conference with 3 sessions. Participants were broken into 3 groups and each group rotated between each session until all groups had attended them all.
Session topics:
Understanding EAL learners in the post-secondary context
Students in distress - how to help and what university services are available
Low-stakes writing for learner preparedness for writing
In-service day sessions were each facilitated by an internally-identified expert. Director, Teaching and Learning, Director, Opportunity & Belonging, and the Writing Centre Coordinator all contributed. The only budget allocated was for materials printing and catering.
Association of Atlantic Universities
In summer of 2023, it was identified that NSCAD’s seat on the professional development committee of the AAU was vacant. I reached out to our President and received permission to occupy the seat. Since then, I have been an active participant on this committee, including a variety of its working groups. The AAU committee on professional development meets three times a year to provide reporting from each maritime public-post-secondary institution on professional development activities. Reporting takes place in the spring and fall. The committee also meets to adjudicate three maritime teaching awards. Recipients of these awards become keynote presenters at a maritime-wide teaching conference held by a rotating AAU member annually. A key factor in participating on this committee is the potential network developed between the participating institutions. I work regularly with delegates to this committee, expanding my limited existing resources and expertise substantially. For example, a small group of us are meeting around institutional responses to technological change to pool expertise and develop guidance.
Faculty Development Highlights
(2023-2024)
In-service Days
The university holds pre-scheduled in-services days three times a year. Winter 2023, the format took the form of a conference with 3 sessions. Participants were broken into 3 groups and each group rotated between each session until all groups had attended them all.
Session topics:
Understanding EAL learners in the post-secondary context
Students in distress - how to help and what university services are available
Low-stakes writing for learner preparedness for writing
In-service day sessions were each facilitated by an internally-identified expert. Director, Teaching and Learning, Director, Opportunity & Belonging, and the Writing Centre Coordinator all contributed. The only budget allocated was for materials printing and catering.
Lunch & Learns
In summer of 2023, it was identified that NSCAD’s seat on the professional development committee of the AAU was vacant. I reached out to our President and received permission to occupy the seat. Since then, I have been an active participant on this committee, including a variety of its working groups. The AAU committee on professional development meets three times a year to provide reporting from each maritime public-post-secondary institution on professional development activities. Reporting takes place in the spring and fall. The committee also meets to adjudicate three maritime teaching awards. Recipients of these awards become keynote presenters at a maritime-wide teaching conference held by a rotating AAU member annually. A key factor in participating on this committee is the potential network developed between the participating institutions. I work regularly with delegates to this committee, expanding my limited existing resources and expertise substantially. For example, a small group of us are meeting around institutional responses to technological change to pool expertise and develop guidance.
Faculty Development Highlights
(2024-2025)
In-service Days
The university holds pre-scheduled in-services days three times a year. Winter 2023, the format took the form of a conference with 3 sessions. Participants were broken into 3 groups and each group rotated between each session until all groups had attended them all.
Session topics:
Understanding EAL learners in the post-secondary context
Students in distress - how to help and what university services are available
Low-stakes writing for learner preparedness for writing
In-service day sessions were each facilitated by an internally-identified expert. Director, Teaching and Learning, Director, Opportunity & Belonging, and the Writing Centre Coordinator all contributed. The only budget allocated was for materials printing and catering.
Asynchronous Resource Development
In summer of 2023, it was identified that NSCAD’s seat on the professional development committee of the AAU was vacant. I reached out to our President and received permission to occupy the seat. Since then, I have been an active participant on this committee, including a variety of its working groups. The AAU committee on professional development meets three times a year to provide reporting from each maritime public-post-secondary institution on professional development activities. Reporting takes place in the spring and fall. The committee also meets to adjudicate three maritime teaching awards. Recipients of these awards become keynote presenters at a maritime-wide teaching conference held by a rotating AAU member annually. A key factor in participating on this committee is the potential network developed between the participating institutions. I work regularly with delegates to this committee, expanding my limited existing resources and expertise substantially. For example, a small group of us are meeting around institutional responses to technological change to pool expertise and develop guidance.