Major Teaching Contributions
I have taught numerous courses at the tertiary level, sat on one student’s magistral committee, delivered a few professional development workshops. I’ve also made a handful of scholarly contributions related to SoTL. All of these are detailed in the Appendix to this document. In my various roles related to curriculum development I have had a significant impact on the development of blended delivery models, curriculum alignment, and the effective leveraging of learning technologies.
Were I to identify my key accomplishments they would be:
- Co-authoring and delivering an innovative online post-graduate applications course in educational technology (ETEC565A)
- Receiving the University’s Graduate Teaching Prize in 2001
- Publishing and presenting two SoTL papers at peer-reviewed conferences
- Shepherding the early development of a new post-graduate medical program in Australia.
ETEC565A has generated a great deal of interest both internal and external to the University. Numerous UBC instructors have been granted access to what is widely considered an innovative and exemplary course. There are multiple pedagogical approaches, shared and self-directed learning activities, and students almost universally produce work of a high professional standard.
The teaching prize was one of only ten awarded at UBC in 2001. During my magistral and doctoral studies I had taught undergraduate courses in teacher education, educational technology and adult education.
I have successfully written two conference papers (both for refereed conference proceedings) about ETEC565A . These have been examples of reflective practice, since I have not collected any data. Despite this limitation these have been well received at conferences. I hope to adapt these for publication in journals in the future.
While a lecturer at the University of Sydney (in medical education) I led the development process of the Sydney Professional Masters of Medicine Program (SPMMP). This unique blended post-graduate program filled a gap between general practitioners working in isolated or rural areas and fully trained specialist physicians. In much of rural Australia—and the entire developing world—accessing specialist care requires travelling hundreds of kilometres. The associated travel costs are often barriers to receiving care. However, having a GP closer to hand with solid specialist knowledge allows for better diagnosis—and sometimes the ability to treat locally. I developed an unique blended learning model for the program, creating the course templates for required and elective courses, led professional development of teaching clinical faculty (as instructors or course authors), and designed a summative evaluation strategy for the program.
My primary role at UBC is Senior Manager Strategic Curriculum Services in the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology. In my role I provide consultative support and leadership on curriculum developments across the university. Some of this work is of the sort many assume a curriculum expert would perform, such as curriculum mapping, program level graduate attributes, and integrating multiple stakeholders’ feedback into a cohesive curriculum. However, much of this work focuses on aspects of curriculum that might surprise some. I have supported initiatives related to the summative peer review of teaching, improving the outcomes from service courses that play an integral role in multiple curricula across the university, and evaluation and research studies related to major projects. I have also piloted a series of internal SoTL workshops for our CTLT staff, who have a depth and breadth of knowledge and experience that makes our unit a world leader—whose work needs to be better represented in peer-reviewed literature.