PD activities

Teaching and Learning Professional Growth

My interests in teaching- and learning- related professional development are varied, as indicated in the various sub-sections of the ‘professional growth’ portion of my portfolio.

Below are workshops and events I have attended, that are not captured in the Facilitation, Writing, Portfolio, SoTL sections. In addition to the items listed below, a lot of great learning happens when I attend conferences in my field.

Teaching and Learning Professional Growth (Fall 2018 – onward)

Assessing and Celebrating Teaching and Student Learning (Simon Fraser University’s 17th Symposium on Teaching and Learning). May 16, 2019. Sessions attended: (1) Journaling: Expressions of Reflective Practice, (2) Teaching Philosophy Statements, (3) Creating a Classroom that Respects Students’ Needs.

Educational Developers Caucus Annual Conference. February 19-22, 2019 (online).

BC Campus Symposium: Scholarly teaching and learning in post-secondary education (October 24, 2018). Vancouver, BC.  (I also presented at the symposium)

(Ooops, I did not keep a good record of non-conference proD that I attended between 2017 and 2018! That is why the next page lists events prior to 2017…).

Teaching and Learning Professional Growth (prior to 2017)

For a list of teaching and learning related professional development activities I partook in prior to 2017, see here.

 

TAG = Centre for Teaching and Academic Growth

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Professional Growth: The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
What is the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning. And What's Happening at BrockU? [visual notes]

Depending on how one defines SoTL, I may or may not be actively participating in this initiative. Yes, I have been involved with “systematic study of teaching and/or learning and the public sharing and review of such work through presentations, performance, or publications” (McKinney, 2006, p. 39) and, yes, my work, which focuses on enhancing teaching and learning, involves research, reflection, and dissemination (see here for further definitions). However, I do not belong to formal SoTL networks.

My involvement with SoTL programs has included:

  • CHES Cross-Professionals Collaborations in Health Education Scholarship Initiative. This full-day event was designed to promote discussion between individuals, with any role in health professions education at UBC, who want to apply a scholarly lens to considering an educational issue of importance across the health disciplines. November 14, 2014.
  • SoTL Journal Club (CTLT). In 2013-2014, I attended when possible. I facilitated a session based on an article titled “Practising what we preach: Towards a student-centred definition of feedback” on February 11, 2014.
  • Centre for Health Education Scholarship Celebration of Scholarship Day. October 17, 2013. Vancouver, BC. (I was invited [and accepted] to lead a round-table discussion on “Tips for conducting good semi-structured interviews.)
  • Centre for Health Education Scholarship Celebration of Scholarship Day. October 2, 2012. Vancouver, BC.
  • Surviving and Succeeding as an Early Career Faculty Member: Findings From an International Study. Presentation by Kathryn Sutherland, Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand (2010. UBC ISoTL).
  • How Does one Change a University? Presentation by Torgny Roxa, University of Lund, Sweden. (November 18, 2008. UBC ISoTL)
  • Learning with the Literature. Session with Margot Parkes, Post-Doctoral Fellow with the UBC Department of Health Care and Epidemiology (October 24, 2007, UBC ISoTL)
  • Engaging Students Outside of Class as a Tool for Enhanced Learning. Presentation by Dan Bernstein, University of Kansas (November 22, 2006. UBC ISoTL)
  • The Plight of First-Year Students: “Causes and Consequences”. Presentation by Ray Perry, University of Manitoba (October 3, 2006. UBC ISoTL)
  • Linking Discipline-based Research and Teaching to Benefit Student Learning. Presentation by Mick Healey, University of Gloucestershire, UK (May 8, 2006. UBC ISoTL)
  • The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and Academic Careers. Presentation by Mary Taylor Huber, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (Friday, March 10, 2006. UBC ISoTL)

Photo by y giulia.forsythe* https://flic.kr/p/e4roar

McKinney, K. (2006). Attitudinal and structural factors contributing to challenges in the work of the scholarship of teaching and learning. New Directions for Institutional Research, 129 (Summer), 37-50.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Creative Commons Licensed: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gforsythe/8571539827/

Facilitation

Professional Growth: Facilitation

As an educational developer, I use facilitation in various ways: I regularly use facilitative teaching in workshops, and also engage in process design and facilitation when I consult with instructors and when I work with my colleagues on teaching and learning initiatives for the UBC community.

I am especially attracted to creative facilitation approaches, such as those that use storytelling, music, and movement. I am often keen to try out new things as long as the purpose for using them is clear — and then to be more courageous about this when co-facilitating.

In order to grow as a facilitator, I participate in ongoing professional development. Some of the workshops I have participated in are below*:

Facilitation and Process Consulting Workshops
facilitate-300x199

  • The Covid pandemic prompted me to grow my skills in online facilitation. I have done so in various ways, including by participating in the Vancouver LS User Group sessions and those offered by the Virtual Facilitation group.
  • Effective Group Facilitation. This course offered a comprehensive framework for group facilitation with many opportunities to practice. To read a blog post I wrote about the course, see here. To read my daily notes, see:  Day 1 notes. Day 2 notes. Day 3 notes. (Facilitator: Julian Griggs. February 22-24, 2017; Offered by SFU Continuing Studies).
  • Facilitating Effective Meetings. As a follow up to this session, I wrote two blog posts: one on using Desired Meeting Results and the other on Ground Rules. Facilitator: Charles Holmes, CE Holmes Consulting (May 2016, offered by UBC AAPS).
  • Design Tips for Virtual Facilitators. This 1-hour webinar demonstrated and engaged the learners in a number of engagement strategies I had never experienced online. Facilitator: Cynthia Clay, Netspeed Learning Solutions. (March 31, 2016)
  • Liberating Structures Immersion Workshop. A workshop that explored approaches and techniques to facilitated group processes. Facilitators (various). (February 17-19, 2016). See here for blog post post-session.
  • Leadership Team Coaching to Develop Capacity. Facilitators: David Rubeli and Barbara Berry. (STLHE Conference Session, 2015).
  • An Integrated Approach to Educational Development. Facilitators: Jessica Earle-Meadows, Janet Dhanani and Erin Yun. This session explored the use of process consultation approaches in educational development (January 2015).
  • Inclusive Leadership. In this session, participants built a shared understanding of leadership and identified expectations and values around what it means to be a leader. Facilitated: PeerNet BC (November 13, 2014).
  • Conflict Theatre Summer Series. This series allowed participants to explore how to use Conflict Theatre to work with/through conflict in the workplace. This session was based on the work of David Diamond and Theatre for the Living. Facilitated and organized by: Julia McLaughlin and UBC HR. (Summer 2014, 8 weeks)
  • Introduction to Process Design and Facilitation. (Part 1: February 5, 2014; Part 2: March 5, 2014) Facilitators: Joseph Topornycky and Jessica Earle-Meadows. Workshop notes and reflections
  • Advanced Facilitation Skills. Facilitation skills for senior educational developers. (October 28-30, 2013. Educational Developers Caucus Institute, UBC). Facilitator: Ruth Rodgers
  • GroupWorks: Using the Group Works deck to facilitate (June 29, 2013). Facilitators: Various
  • Process Consulting: Designing the Activities and Facilitating the Process (June 25, 2013). Facilitator: Janice Johnson
  • Facilitation and Facilitators: We Focus on the Journey, Rather than the Destination! (November 8, 2012). Facilitator: Janice Johnson
  • Facilitation Opportunities and Challenges (November 29, 2012). Facilitators: Janice Johnson and Cindy Underhill.

*Unless otherwise noted, the event was offered through the UBC Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology.

Instructional Skills Workshops (ISW)

For a list of workshops I have taken through the ISW Networksee here.

Creative commons licensed photo by girlray. http://www.flickr.com/photos/girlray/8908825980/

 

 

Other

Other Professional Development

  • Managing Reactions in Difficult Conversations. March 13, 2019. Facilitator: Diane Ross. 3-hour session through UBC AAPS.
  • Focus on Feedback: A Leadership Advantage. November 15, 2017. Facilitator: Julie Hamilton & Associates for UBC HR MOST program. A 3-hour session that focused on giving feedback for improvement in the workplace.
  • Lead Yourself First: 3-day course in which I gained additional insights on my personal leadership style and how to lead more effectively. (LEAD 1100, Justice Institute of British Columbia). April 10-12, 2017. Facilitator: Alan Simpson.
  • Free the Voice. February 26, 2017.  Facilitator: Lyn McGown. Notes, private.
  • Rule out Racism. March 25, 2014. I attended a session that examined the limits of “I don’t see race” discourse using examples from the fields of education, health promotion and social services (My notes in PDF: The racism of I don’t see race). Presenter: John Paul Catungal, Ph.D
  • Intercultural Fluency. May 3, 2013. Facilitated largely by Alden Habacon, UBC’s Director of Intercultural Understanding Strategy Development and Karen Rolston, Director for the UBC Centre for Intercultural Communication.
  • Practical Project Management. May 7, 2012. This was a UBC AAPS workshop offered by the Berrant Group.
  • MITACS Step Project Management Workshop (Wednesday, February 16, 2011)

Portfolios

Portfolio

My career as an educational developer began when I was hired for a 4-month contract to work on a teaching portfolio initiative at the University of British Columbia’s teaching and learning centre. That project started my interest in portfolios. And though that initiative wrapped up a long time ago, my interest in portfolios has remained alive.

Below are some workshops/webinars I have participated in related to portfolios.

Portfolios

    • Academic Branding: Improving Your Visibility, Network, and Career Opportunities. (February 25, 2015. Webinar offered by Academic Coaching and Writing).
    • WordPress training (ongoing since 2009)
    • ePortfolios for Learning and Assessment web conference (Dr. Trent Batson and Dr.Helen Chen, September 28, 2008)
    • Developing and Evaluating Teaching Portfolios web Conference (Dr. Amy Goodburn, October 26, 2007)
    • Opportunities for Reflection and Community-Building Using Emerging Technologies Presentation by Helen Chen, Stanford University; Friday, March 3, 2006; 1.5 hours)
    • Creating Electronic Portfolios using iWebfolio 3.0 (September, 2005)
    • e-Portfolios at UBC (Full-day conference, UBC Robson Square, November, 2004)