Faculty Development: Courses & Workshops
If you are designing or redesigning an online course that you plan to teach in the next few months, consider registering for one of our courses or workshops to explore and implement research-based online course design and teaching best practices.
Collaborate with UMass Amherst lecturers and instructional designers through online modules and synchronous sessions focused on designing and teaching online courses.
This Spring 2022, the IDEAS team will be facilitating the 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 and their department head will be notified.
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.
The next course will run from March 23, 2022–April 27, 2022. Synchronous Zoom sessions will be held on Wednesdays, from 11:00am-12:00pm EST.
New to online teaching at UMass?
This Spring, the IDEAS Team is offering a self-paced Introduction to Online Teaching Course. The course guides instructors in setting up their online course and the basics of teaching an effective online course.
Participants can expect to spend about 1-3 hours per learning module (approximately 7-10 hours across all learning modules).
Registration for the course is open now.
The IDEAS team also be hosts a series of interactive workshops focusing on Engagement in courses taught online. Participants 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 focus on:
- Beyond Lecture: Presenting Content Creatively
- Facilitating Engaging Synchronous Learning Activities
- Facilitating Engaging Asynchronous Activities
- Best practices for Lecture Capture
- Encouraging Student Interaction and Collaboration
Click the link below for dates and to register for one or all of the workshops in this series.
