Instructor Communication & Training
“The learning college places learning first
and provides educational experiences for learners anyway, anyplace,
anytime.” - Terry O’Banion
Much of the success of AAA is due to the amazing instructors who teach the course. To assist instructors to continually become more effective facilitators of learning in their classes, intentional steps are taken to build a team that shares ideas, keep instructors well informed and offering training/professional development opportunities throughout the year.
An AAA Instructor Information Hub is available to instructors as a primary source of information, connection to additional resources and outlining expectations.
- Semester Preparation
- Teaching
- Course Assessment & Evaluation
- Communication and Training
- Feedback (Instructors can complete this form to provide feedback)
Professional Development Goals
1. Preparation and Practice of Culturally Responsive Teaching (Response to the high priority as indicated by data from the Instructor Self Assessment (Fall 2015) "Is sensitive to and accommodates diverse learning styles, abilities, cultures and experiences, including learners who have disabilities and other special needs."
- 11/13/2015: Initial Discussion & Ideas
- Instructors were asked prior to the meeting to read the article CulturallyResponsiveTeaching-Matters.pdf and respond to the following questions on a google form https://docs.google.com/a/aims.edu/forms/d/1l71_MbKdZ_u-T0GVVlhIh3hkKEuutaxLtQ5ijvO4ewQ/viewform.
- How are you actively preparing your lessons for class, and facilitating your activities to be intentional about cultural diversity in the classroom?
- Please provide your thoughts and ideas about lessons or activities that you haven't tried, but maybe have considered trying? Why do you think you have been reluctant?
- Which Units, chapters, topics and/or assignments would lend themselves nicely to incorporating a culturally responsive teaching application?
- Responses were compiled on a PowerPoint to guide discussion AAA Multicultural Responsive Teaching Discussion 11.13.15.pptx
- 4/15/2015: Part 1 Teaching Circle: Culturally Responsive Teaching: The Basics (Hosts: Nadia Navarro and Robert Garcia) Culturally responsive teaching is a “pedagogy that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes.”http://www.culturallyresponsiveteachingresources.org/ What does it mean to be a culturally responsive educator? How do we know if our classrooms are culturally responsive?
- 4/22/2015: Part 2 Teaching Circle: Culturally Responsive Teaching: Unpacking the Concept of White Privilege (Hosts: April McClure and Ryan Barone) We’ll look inside ways we “inadvertently” value whiteness in our classrooms and the impact that it can have on our students. Questioning aspects of how we teach is an important step toward “racially just pedagogy.
AAA Instructor Professional Development Participation
AAA Instructors attended the following local and out of state conferences to expand their knowledge and share with other AAA instructors during meetings.
- Part Time Instructor Linda Zamora: HACU Latino Higher Education Leadership Conference www.hacu.net/hacu/ October 11-13, 2015
- Chair & Assistant Professor Denise Pearson: AAEEBL Western USA Regional Conference Harnessing the Power of the ePortfolio: Transformative Practices in Pedagogy and Assessment April 8-9, 2014
- Instructor Francie Rottini: 26th Annual eLearningConsortium of Colorado Conference “Reach the Peaks: Scale to New Heights” April 15-17, 2015 & CCCOnline’s CONNECT to Excellence Conference “Cultivating Excellence” October 16, 2015
- (Approved and Planned) Part Time Instructors Nadia Navarro & Robert Garcia: AACU Diversity, Learning and Student Success conference “Shifting Paradigms and Challenging Mindsets” https://www.aacu.org/meetings/dlss/2016 March 17-19. 2016.