BCC just finished its first pilot of the Getting Results new faculty training program on May 20th, a six-module, 18 hour course highlighting important instructional topics like classroom community, technology, assessment, learning outcomes, and learning outside the classroom.
Since the group was small, the following are comments/feedback that participants gave both as a final evaluation and throughout the course of the modules. All participants highly recommended that we run the Getting Results course (with modifications) regularly for adjunct and new full-time faculty.
One exciting outcome of the class is that participants were interested in continuing to meet in the Fall as a “teaching practice” learning community.
Based on the comments below and the experience of piloting the course, it seems clear that we should run the course again in the Fall with attention to module content, timing, and more formative assessment.
– The Parker Palmer book was helpful, but it took time away from the module we were studying
– The Getting Results modules are too focused on vocational education
– Enjoyed exchange of ideas with colleagues and guest speakers
– Good variety of panelists
– Was able to individualize material to my needs
– Needed much more time for participant discussion
– I want to try Smartboard and learn about Blackboard
– The beginning of the course seemed less structured and directed
– It was tough to fit Parker Palmer, module discussion, panels and participant sharing all within one session. Felt like good stuff was being cut short
– I valued learning more about BCC and other departments
– The final project did not have enough time and felt rushed
– The strengths of the program were learning outcomes, learning outside the classroom, and the experience of the group
– Two very valuable parts of the course were rewriting for outcomes and understanding the core competencies
– The course was highly informative
– Interaction with peers/community was most helpful
– Getting Results has made me less hostile to group work
– Need better clarity of roles among facilitators
– The timing of the class starting so late in the semester made final presentations collide with grading = heavy time crunch
– I am changing my syllabus as a response to the Getting Results class
– We needed more time for presentations, at least 20 minutes per person
– Instructors need community, esp. adjuncts. Make sure people are introduced, don’t assume people know each other
Permalink
Provided an excellent opportunity for adjunct faculty to interact with full-time faculty. Learned about resources available at the college, developed a net-working system and incorporated the community into my fall course. Well-worth my time and effort.
Permalink
One participant suggested the roles of the facilitators could have been more clearly defined. My feeling is that it would be best to have one facilitator/organizer and have other faculty invited to run individual sessions, as guest speakers. The last session did have this feel to me, more than earlier sessions.
I think sessions work best when presenters have more autonomy in what they choose to talk about in their sessions and how they run them. It did take us some time, though, to figure out what was most useful in the GR curriculum; in the beginning, some of us (me) tried perhaps too hard to follow GR as a script rather than as a jumping off point for discussion. Chris DeGregorio understood this right away, and I think her sessions were very successful.
In all, a very worthwhile experience. Thanks for including me in it!
Lois
Permalink
I agree that Chris DeGregorio had the best presentations. She was better organized and followed the teaching model.
I am not sure that longer presentations at the end would be helpful. I saw the presentations as more of a summary of experiences learned.
I also recognize that I came to this class from a different background.