Faculty Development & Training

This Spring, the IDEAS team will be facilitating a 6-week online course for instructors interested in: learning how to develop and teach effective online courses, using teaching technologies meaningfully, and receiving  personalized support in the process of designing their online courses. It will focus on five essential components: 

• Foundations of online teaching 
• Structure and Design 
• Assessment
• Engagement
• Communication

Through reading and exploring resources, engaging in learning activities, and collaborating with their colleagues, participants will develop strategies for using resources and technologies to enhance their online courses. Each week, instructors will put these strategies into practice and build out a different aspect of their course, receiving feedback from their colleagues and course facilitators. Participants who fulfill all course requirements will receive a Certificate of Completion. 

Participants can expect to spend about 3-5 hours per learning module (approximately 20-25 hours over 6 weeks). Additionally, there are 6 required synchronous Zoom sessions: Tuesdays, 11:00am-12:00pm ET, March 30, 2021—May 04, 2021. 

This Spring, the IDEAS team will also be hosting a series of four interactive workshops focusing on Engagement in courses taught online. Participants will develop strategies for using resources and technologies to increase the levels of student engagement and participation in their courses. They can expect to collaborate with their colleagues across campus to share ideas and best practices. The workshops will focus on:

• Beyond Lecture: Presenting Content Creatively (Tues., 3/9, 10:00-11:30am)
• Facilitating Engaging Synchronous Learning Activities (Wed., 3/24, 10:00-11:30am)
• Facilitating Engaging Asynchronous Activities (Thurs., 4/8, 10:00-11:30am)
• Building Student-Instructor Relationships (Wed., 4/21, 10:00-11:30am)

This course is designed by the UMass Instructional Design, Engagement, and Support (IDEAS) Team to be self-paced, and each module is meant to follow the previous in a linear progression through the course building process. However, you can skip to different modules as you feel appropriate for your skills, knowledge, and where you are in the course design process. 

There are 8 modules to introduce you to the tools, teaching technologies, and strategies for their thoughtful inclusion into your course:

1. Define Your Learning Objectives and Design Strategy
2. Develop an Accessible Syllabus (and Documents)
3. Enhance your Presence and Communications
4. Deliver Engaging Online Lectures
5. Design Effective Online Assessments
6. Build Your First Week
7. Continuing Building Your Course
8. Review Your Course

The course is created in Both Moodle and Blackboard - Please specify which version you would like to be enrolled in when emailing.