Reflective Facilitator Badge

Credit: http://scope.bccampus.ca

What an amazing five weeks I had taking the FLO (Facilitating Learning Online) workshop offered by BC Campus. The facilitators were exemplary in their modelling, facilitation strategies and prompt, authentic, growth-oriented feedback!!

Moreover, the group of colleagues in the workshop was very diverse with intriguing educational backgrounds, thus contributing tremendously to the collaborative learning experience. The active learner activities as well as facilitation mini-sessions were engaging, relevant and directly applicable to academia. The rich online resources were thought provoking, current and at a scholarly academic level. The numerous online tools available were quite neat, as I have a newfound appreciation for digital technology and how time consuming it can be! 😉

I am thrilled to have obtained the Reflective Facilitator Badge and highly recommend this workshop to educators from all disciplines.

The Reflective Facilitator can:

1) Build & sustain online community:

Assess community building elements and strategies in online activities and courses
Use appropriate strategies to support adult learners online
Use strategies and tools to establish and maintain instructor presence, and support learning and community goals

2) Support adult learners online:

Identify instructional issues and potential solutions to help adults learn online
Facilitate learning activities that accommodate diverse needs of adult learners

3) Facilitate group / teamwork online:

Discuss group dynamics in online collaborative activities
Demonstrate effective facilitation of collaborative group activities online

4) Demonstrate effective feedback and assessment:

Provide constructive, growth-oriented feedback to peers
Critically reflect on feedback and course experiences to self-evaluate work and learning

5) Manage the online course environment:

Articulate rationale for instructional choices (including tool selection)
Attend to “general housekeeping” of the online environment

Evaluation of Instruction

How do you evaluate yourself as an Instructor?

Credit: pixshark.com

Effective Instructors have a comprehensive understanding of the importance of evaluation aimed at themselves. This ties in to the notion of being a reflective practitioner, being aware of the importance of this and the impact it has on your professional development.  Let us analyze various means to do this.

• Student feedback prior, during and after a course can be a highly  recommended source of insights.
• Peer coaching via mirroring, collaborative peer coaching or expert coaching can also be a great strategy.
• Self-evaluation via reflective practice, through the use of self-evaluation questionnaires.
• Self-observation via video/DVD which can illuminate in regard to behaviours we may not have been aware of.

The question arising next, is what the benefits are for instructor evaluation. Let us address that!

• Professional Development, recognition, raises.
• Opportunities for improved instructional design, student/teacher relationship and a positive learning community.
• Fosters accountability.
• Encourages reflective practice and provides a record of performance.

What tools do you or your institution use in the evaluation of instruction?

Top #10 Characteristics of a Great Teacher

credit: www.pinterest.com

What makes a great teacher? What are the Institutional Standards of Instructor competencies?

I have researched a variety of sources that have numerous, lengthy and evidence-based Instructor competencies & characteristics and have compiled a Top #10 List:

#1: A great teacher is respectful of students, colleagues and institutions.

#2: A great teacher fosters a sense of belonging and builds a learning community.

#3: A great teacher clearly states the expectations & learning outcomes of the course.

#4: A great teacher conveys the implications & relevance of topics.

#5: A great teacher incorporates appropriate use of digital tools & technology.

#6: A great teacher initiates meta-cognitive strategies & reflection in her students.

#7: A great teacher facilitates student driven inquiry, discussion & discovery.

#8: A great teacher uses a variety of effective Instructional Strategies.

#9: A great teacher has high standards & fair assessment methods.

#10: A great teacher has excellent content knowledge in her field.

And while there are numerous other traits, characteristics and competencies (links to which can be found in the bottom of the resource section of this blog) I have chosen 10, which to me appear significant. Notice how content expertise is #10, it is very important yet not essential. A learning community, relevance, clear expectations and meta-cognitive strategies are much more essential if we are to maintain that learning is the intended outcome. A great teacher will exhaust this list and exhibit many more characteristics that contribute to her greatness!

On a side note, I found this link particularly useful and I appreciate the “What Less Effective Teachers Do Wrong” section. 😉

https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/resources/teaching/planning-your-approach/characteristics-effective-teachers%20

Innovation in Digital Technology

Credit: http://www.rudebaguette.com/2013/12/03/frances-launches-global-innovation-competition-to-find-next-industrial-star/

It is without a doubt evident that there is a paradigm shift within education and that digital technology takes centre stage, what is surprising, however, is the fact that there seems to be little innovation when it comes to the implementation of digital technology in the classroom.

The article: The Nerdy Teacher: Pedagogical identities for a digital age by Glynda Hull, John Scott & Jennifer Higgs was a wonderful read about how educators can achieve competency with digital technology by being immersed in “hands-on” activities via collaborative learning.

As opposed to presenting teachers with the “how to” of tool use, they had a different approach. They provided opportunities for the growth of artistic communities that designed and produced multimedia artifacts and digital videos. They used missions and scavenger hunts to increase creative confidence and encourage collaboration. As a result they integrated technology in a motivational manner that focused on collaboration, creativity and innovation.

I created a summary of the article, which can be heard via this podcast:

http://my.brainshark.com/The-Nerdy-Teacher-612123323

Choosing your Tools

Credit: https://onlinelearninginsights.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/8183227679_ae1fc2d4d8_c.jpg

As educators design learning activities that best suit the needs of their students, it is important to address the tool selection process and reflect on it.

• What are the advantages & disadvantages of using a particular tool for an online collaborative learning activity?
• How can the educator address tool overload and have incentives to ensure students make use of that particular tool?
• What selection criteria would you recommend when selecting a tool to support a collaborative learning activity?

Two tools that I have been recently introduced to are GoogleDocs and Prezi. Both these tools are widely used by educators and appeared on the well-known 2014 Top 100 Tools for Learning by Jane Hart with GoogleDocs ranking in at #2 and Prezi at #13. Have a look at other tools!

http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/

Before deciding on any particular tool, one must consider the learning outcomes, the available resources and support they can provide for novice students. Other aspects to consider are the learner base and how that impacts tool selection, as introverts prefer asynchronous tools and extroverts thrive in synchronous tools.

Synchronous: existing or occurring at the same time* (e.g., Skype, Blackboard Collaborate, Google Hangouts, etc.)

Asynchronous: not occurring at the same time* (e.g., Moodle`s discussion forums, blog posts and comments, online bulletin boards, etc.)

Whatever tool you choose keep in mind that this is a process, and sometimes you learn by doing. Ask reflective questions for yourself in terms of tool selection and ask for feedback from your students as well to improve the overall course design!