OIDevelopments

Volume 3, Issue 1

Office of Instructional Development Newsletter

August 2008

Welcome Back Everyone!

The Office of Instructional Development would like to extend a warm welcome back to

everyone! We have a number of activities planned for 2008-2009 and we look forward

to working for you and with you to ensure a successful and rewarding academic year.

You’ll find a list of planned activities for faculty on page four and our contact

information is on page three. We’re here for you so please don’t hesitate to call, email or

drop by.

Put A Little PEP in Your Step: Peer Exchange Program (PEP)

Have you always wanted to exchange teaching tips and information with a colleague, but not known how or

where to start? If so, you might consider joining the Peer Exchange Program (PEP).

The objective of PEP is to create small groups of faculty members who support each other throughout the year.

This will be done by exchanging information and participating in activities from a Reflection Guide (which will be

developed in the first large group meeting). Ideally, participants would complete a minimum of 5 activities from

the Reflection Guide throughout the year and would meet a minimum of once a month. There will also be group

meetings each semester, where participants exchange information with the larger group. This program is one of

the OID’s answers to a traditional mentoring program. Using this approach, faculty are grouped according to

interest and work though a series of exercises together to exchange class management and pedagogical tips.

Come check it out for yourself! Contact Karina at ext. 1409 for more information or to sign up! Looking forward

to seeing you there!

OIDevelopments 1

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OID News

Volume 3, Issue 1

Office of Instructional Development Newsletter

August 2008

PBT (Pedagogy Basics for Teachers) Pilot

PBT is an

online, self-paced

tutorial which covers guiding principles for teachers to effectively manage their

courses. This program is made up of three distinct levels: bronze, silver, and gold. Each level represents a

progression in competencies and skill sets. PBT is self-paced with each level taking roughly 6 hours to complete

and combines interactive activities with practical tools to help facilitate teaching. Participants have access to a

course facilitator, whose role it is to to answer any questions as they emerge, as well as to prompt further

reflection through asking questions about the participant’s course work.

PBT Bronze uses Moodle as its learning management system, and incorporates a wiki to introduce a

range of topics from alternatives to lecturing, to educational theories and how they play out in your course. Its

central goal is for teachers to become conscious of their teaching style and its implications on classroom

management.

The OID will be looking for 3 faculty members to join us in the pilot session this term. Please contact

Karina (1409) for more information or if you would like to learn more about PBT.

Status Report on Course Management Systems

Subsequent to our experiences with WebCT in 2007-2008, the Dean of Instructional Development, Barbara

Freedman, arranged to have an external consultant hold focus groups to discuss major concerns and desirable

features for course management/communication software (e.g., WebCT, First Class). Some 30 faculty members

explored a range of issues related to this topic. The OID is in the process of analyzing their responses as a

prelude to developing a strategy for the adoption and support of CMS platform(s) in the future.

Given the significant changes to WebCT itself and the reduced support we have been receiving from the new

owners, Blackboard, it would seem an appropriate time to consider our options. As faculty and students are the

most important users of this software, the OID will focus on your feedback to guide our choices.

Moreover, as many educational institutions, both locally and around the world, have been grappling with the

question of CMS selection, we will also consider their circumstances, review processes, and decisions, as

appropriate. We will be consulting and reporting on the matter over the course of the fall semester with a view to

making final recommendations to the College in January of 2009.

OIDevelopments 2

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OID Staff

Volume 3, Issue 1

Office of Instructional Development Newsletter

August 2008

Name

Office

Phone

TBA

Secretary

4B.3A

1405

JoAnn Durocher

English Exit Test and Comprehensive

Assessment

6B.19

1688

Barbara Freedman

Dean of Instructional Development

4B.3A-4

1484

Catherine Fusk

Secretary to the Dean of Instructional

Development

4B.3A

1485

Karina Leonard

Educational Consultant in Instructional

Development

4B.3A-5

1409

Maeve Muldowney

Coordinator of Professional Development

and Research

4B.3A-2

1376

Rebecca Prince

Final Exams and Teacher Evaluation

5D.35

1558

Suzanne Prevost

Professional Development

4B.3A

1378

Tina Romeo

Mid-Term Assessment and Placement

Testing

4B.3A-1

1408

Rafael Scapin

Coordinator of Educational Technologies

4B.3A-3

1404

OID Staff Contact Information

New Coordinator on Campus

The Office of Instructional Development is

pleased to announce the arrival of our new

Coordinator of Educational Technology,

Rafael Scapin.

Rafael, who recently moved to Canada

from Brazil, has a Ph.D. in Computational

Physics from the University of Sao Paulo,

has taught at several Brazilian universities,

and has a broad range of experience in

online courses and course management

systems.

He has already started to delve into the

teaching and technology dossier and is

currently planning and developing activities

for the fall semester. Among other things,

he will be running a workshop on WebCT

and LÉA on September 8

th

(see page 1 for

details).

If you have questions and/or suggestions

about the kinds of support you would like to

have, let us know. Why not drop by to meet

Rafael and tell him about your ideas? He is

in 4B.3A-3 and his local is 1404. He would

be more than happy to speak with you.

The newest member of the Office of

Instructional Development, Rafael

Scapin, is already hard at work.

OIDevelopments 3

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OID Activities

Volume 3, Issue 1

Office of Instructional Development Newsletter

August 2008

New Faculty Support

Using faculty feedback from the Needs Assessment,

the OID has come up with the following Program for

New Faculty. Please visit the OID website or call

Karina (ext.1409) to find out more about the following

activities:

August 26

th

, September 3rd

New Faculty Tours of Dawson College & Services

September

New Teachers Orientation Part I

Peer Exchange Program Large Group Meeting

October

New Teachers Orientation Part II: Theme tbd based

on feedback from Part I

November

New Teachers Orientation Part III: Theme tbd based

on feedback from Part I

December

Peer Exchange Program Large Group Meeting

January

Peer Exchange Program Large Group Meeting

New Teachers Orientation Winter Part I

February

New Teachers Orientation Winter Part II

April

New Teachers Orientation Winter Part III

June

Final Peer Exchange Program Meeting

BBQ for New Teachers

OIDevelopments 4

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