Fostering Collaboration Between Faculty and Instructional Designers in Higher Education

Collaboration between faculty members and instructional designers is a crucial aspect of designing and delivering effective online and blended courses in higher education. Let’s explore the benefits of collaboration, discuss strategies for fostering effective partnerships, and highlight the importance of communication and shared goals in creating successful learning experiences.

Recognizing the Expertise of Instructional Designers

Instructional designers bring valuable expertise in pedagogy, instructional technology, and course design to the table. Their knowledge of best practices, learning theories, and emerging technologies can greatly enhance the quality of online and blended courses. Faculty members should recognize and appreciate the unique contributions instructional designers bring to the collaborative process.

Establishing Effective Communication Channels

Open and frequent communication is key to successful collaboration between faculty and instructional designers. Establish regular meetings, whether in person or virtual, to discuss course objectives, design considerations, and instructional strategies. Use collaborative project management tools and communication platforms to facilitate ongoing dialogue and document decisions and revisions.

Shared Goals and Vision

Faculty and instructional designers should align their goals and vision for the course. By establishing shared objectives, they can work together to create a cohesive and engaging learning experience. Discuss learning outcomes, assessment strategies, and the integration of technology to ensure that the course design reflects the desired goals and objectives.

Leveraging Expertise and Input

Faculty members possess subject matter expertise, while instructional designers bring expertise in instructional design and technology integration. Embrace the strengths of each team member and encourage collaboration to leverage their expertise effectively. Faculty members can provide content-specific insights, while instructional designers can offer guidance on effective instructional strategies and technology tools.

Iterative Design and Evaluation

Collaboration should extend beyond the initial course design phase. Engage in iterative design and evaluation processes to continuously improve the course based on student feedback, assessment data, and emerging best practices. Regularly review and revise course materials to ensure alignment with the intended learning outcomes and to incorporate innovative instructional approaches.

Fostering collaboration between faculty members and instructional designers is essential for designing and delivering effective online and blended courses in higher education. By recognizing each other’s expertise, establishing effective communication channels, aligning goals and vision, leveraging expertise and input, and engaging in iterative design and evaluation, faculty and instructional designers can create engaging and meaningful learning experiences for students. Together, they can navigate the complexities of instructional design, technology integration, and pedagogical innovation to ensure the success of online and blended learning initiatives.

-RG

Embracing Virtual Reality to Enhance Student Engagement in Higher Education

Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a transformative technology with the potential to revolutionize higher education. By creating immersive and interactive experiences, VR can significantly enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. Let’s explore the benefits of incorporating VR in higher education and discuss practical ways to engage students using this innovative technology.

Immersive Learning Experiences: Enhancing Understanding and Retention

Traditional classroom lectures can sometimes fall short in capturing students’ attention and fostering deep understanding. VR offers a solution by immersing students in virtual environments that simulate real-world scenarios. Whether it’s exploring historical sites, conducting scientific experiments, or practicing professional skills, VR enables students to experience concepts firsthand, leading to increased engagement, improved comprehension, and long-term retention of knowledge.

Active Learning and Collaboration: Breaking Boundaries

VR technology allows students to actively participate in their learning by providing hands-on experiences and promoting collaboration. In virtual environments, students can manipulate objects, solve complex problems, and work together with peers in simulated scenarios. VR breaks the boundaries of traditional classrooms, enabling students to explore new perspectives, engage in interactive discussions, and develop critical thinking and teamwork skills.

Accessibility and Inclusivity: Overcoming Limitations

Virtual reality has the potential to address accessibility and inclusivity challenges in higher education. Students with physical disabilities or geographical constraints can now participate in immersive learning experiences that were previously inaccessible. VR also provides opportunities for students to explore diverse cultures, environments, and perspectives, fostering empathy and cultural understanding.

Career Readiness and Skill Development

Virtual reality offers a unique platform for students to develop practical skills and prepare for real-world careers. From medical simulations to architectural design and engineering prototypes, VR enables students to practice and refine their skills in a safe and controlled environment. By engaging in realistic scenarios, students can gain confidence, hone their problem-solving abilities, and bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Virtual reality has the potential to revolutionize higher education by providing immersive learning experiences, promoting active engagement and collaboration, addressing accessibility challenges, and preparing students for future careers. As educators, it is crucial to embrace this innovative technology and explore its applications to create transformative learning experiences. By integrating VR into higher education, we can enhance student engagement, foster deep learning, and empower students with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in a rapidly evolving world.

-RG

Improve Communication With Colleagues

Effective communication is a cornerstone of any successful workplace, and this holds true for educators. Collaborating with colleagues not only fosters a positive and supportive work environment but also enhances professional growth and improves outcomes for students. In this article, we will explore the importance of communication with colleagues and provide strategies for fostering effective collaboration.

Foster Open and Transparent Communication – Establish an environment where open and transparent communication is encouraged. Foster a culture of trust and respect, where colleagues feel comfortable sharing their ideas, concerns, and feedback. Actively listen to your colleagues’ perspectives and provide constructive input. Open communication ensures that information flows freely and enables effective problem-solving and decision-making.

Utilize Multiple Communication Channels – Different situations call for different communication channels. While face-to-face interactions are valuable, embrace various communication tools to accommodate different preferences and facilitate collaboration. Utilize email, instant messaging platforms, video conferencing, and shared project management tools to maintain constant communication and ensure everyone stays informed and connected.

Schedule Regular Check-Ins – Establish regular check-in meetings or informal catch-ups with your colleagues. These sessions provide an opportunity to discuss ongoing projects, share updates, and address any challenges or concerns. Regular check-ins enhance collaboration, foster a sense of accountability, and allow for timely feedback and support.

Collaborate on Projects and Initiatives – Engage in collaborative projects and initiatives with your colleagues. Seek opportunities to work together on curriculum development, instructional design, or administrative tasks. Collaborative efforts leverage collective expertise and diverse perspectives, resulting in innovative solutions and improved outcomes. Embrace teamwork and capitalize on each other’s strengths.

Provide Constructive Feedback – Effective communication includes providing constructive feedback to help colleagues grow professionally. When offering feedback, be specific, objective, and supportive. Focus on actionable suggestions and highlight strengths alongside areas for improvement. Constructive feedback fosters a culture of continuous improvement and creates an environment where everyone feels supported in their professional development.

Effective communication enables the sharing of ideas, supports problem-solving, and facilitates the growth of individuals and the organization as a whole. Embrace the power of communication to strengthen relationships, build a positive work culture, and collectively strive for excellence in education.

-RG

Be Thankful

There are many ways to foster a thankful heart, which can lead to positive benefits, such as better health, higher productivity, healthier relationships, more satisfaction with life, relief from stress, and defense against depression.

Now might be a good time to conduct a personal thankfulness inventory, learn ways to increase your thankfulness, and practice new methods of expressing gratefulness to those in your life.

Experts agree that to develop a lifestyle of gratitude, you will need to slow down and be intentional to look at all aspects of your life – work, home, play, community, church, school, neighborhood, family – because when you really take stock, there is so much to be grateful for. 

It might be specific people in your life, a job to pay the bills, a good customer service experience, a free country, a car to get around, food to eat, a place to live, fresh air to breath, a kind word you received, a warm coat, a cozy bed, hot water, or a new day.

How do you show gratitude? Here are a few examples:

Serve – You might volunteer at a homeless shelter, provide a Thanksgiving meal to a foster family, give to an organization that provides clean water in third world countries, or visit a homebound senior. There is no shortage of those in need, so put the gratitude you feel for your blessed life into action by serving someone less fortunate.

Show – Send a card for no other reason than to express your appreciation for an everyday thing someone does to make your life better. This is especially impactful for those who often go unrecognized, such as the custodian, the postman, the bank clerk, the grocery sacker, the garbage collector, your state representative, even your boss. 

Verbal – Try to go beyond the simple “thank you.” Instead, be specific about what they’ve done that you’re thankful for. For example, rather than simply thanking a veteran for his or her service, tell them how much it means to you that they put their life on the line to defend our freedom.

-RG

Top 5 List – Ways To Be A Better Leader

Top 5 List

Much has been written about the different ways to lead a business or lead a team. Unfortunately some leaders underestimate the importance of leadership skills. Some leaders just don’t think it’s important or they value marketing, finance, sales, technical or other skills more highly. And other leaders simply don’t grasp what it takes to lead others in their own business or as part of a larger team – unable to judge how much others look up to them for leadership.

It’s rare to find a leader who truly cares about the people who work for them and knows how to grow a successful team or business. While at the same time building a loyal, productive, happy and empowered team. Here’s a short list of 5 things (plus a few things) that experts in the leadership development field have shared that will help leaders become better at growing their teams or their business.

Clear expectations – Everybody needs clear direction from the leader about where the business is going. Too many leaders believe that such things are self-evident. Expectations need to be articulated early and often.

Be consistent – Great leaders provide consistent messages. These leaders also make reasoned decisions without appearing to be arbitrary. This doesn’t mean they don’t change their mind. When they do change their mind they clearly communicate the reasons for the change going forward.

Relentless communication – Great leaders stay in constant contact with the people they lead. They don’t just check in from time-to-time via email or wait for others to come to them. They provide information, ask questions, and seek opinions. This does not require endless meetings, but it does require a measure of skill to make communications clear.

Seek input – Some leaders think that they have all of the answers themselves. Even if that’s true, the great leaders will still seek input from others. Successful leaders are decisive – they don’t put things off or offer half-decisions that leave people wondering what they’re supposed to do.

Avoid overload – Many teams and businesses may find themselves in the fast-paced environment with high intensity similar to that of a startup that feels like a 24/7 job. An environment with a significant number of emails and urgent projects debated all hours of the night and on the weekends, can overload a team quickly. Sometimes that goes with the territory. The great leaders are the ones who are sensitive to it and find ways to relieve some pressure by keeping meetings to a minimum and making them highly efficient.

BONUS: Culture – Great leaders recognize that most people want a work environment that’s about much more than simply earning a paycheck or collecting a bonus. Great leaders surround themselves with people who have mutual respect for each other and care about one another on a personal level. These great leaders recognize people as individuals not just as workers or staff members.

BONUS: Show gratitude – Great leaders live by the practice of “praising publicly and criticizing privately”. It’s amazing how gratitude and public praise can lift others and spur them to do more or to take on more. People simply want to be appreciated. Leaders who show appreciation by offering praise or gratitude will in return foster a team of individuals who are loyal and willing to go the extra mile to help the group be successful.

BONUS: Help others be successful – this is one of the fundamentals of great leadership. It’s one thing to praise people and quite another to constantly be on alert about what guidance and resources they need to be successful. It starts with leaders caring about others’ success as much – if not more – than they care about their own.

-RG

Top 5 List – Bad Leadership Skills

Top 5 List

Recently a small group of colleagues and I met for a regular informal meeting about the world of work and what that looks like now. The discussion quickly turned to an article a couple of us had seen online…the topic was leadership. In this case, bad leadership. We all agreed that leadership is simply defined as developing the members of your team to their fullest potential (or something very close to this). The author presented 5 of the most common bad leadership behaviors they had witnessed. In summary, those 5 are:

Lacking integrity – Employees will know when questionable decisions are made for financial gain or for the personal benefit of leadership. If the employees know,  then the respect has already been lost. Leaders should lead their teams by example and always show integrity in the decision-making process. 

Failure to provide ongoing feedback – The typical annual performance review and its process often doesn’t result in positive feedback. Typically in this process, managers will bank a year’s worth of views and perspectives until review time dumping them all at once on the employee. This experience often leaves the employees feeling dazed and confused overwhelmed and even irritated.

Not recognizing good work – Gallup has surveyed millions of employees from around the world. The results of the surveys show that people who receive regular recognition for doing good work increase their productivity, increase their engagement, and are more likely to be retained as an employee. 

Being disrespectful – Last year (2020), Resumelab conducted a poll on what it means to be considered a bad leader. This poll found that 72% of those surveyed were treated in a rude or disrespectful manner by their supervisor. Another 70% were criticized in front of their peers and 83% of them felt bad about it.

Failure to communicate – Communication issues are common. There can be too much communication, too little communication, or wrong messages being conveyed. Whatever form poor communication arrives in it can affect employee morale, disengage employees, and even create problems with customers. Communication should be crystal clear in every form.

-RG

Let’s Talk

Remember that part of the Holidays is about being present in the moment with those closest to you. You may break bread to connect with these people in your life. The food is there to signify the importance of the event and also to make it easier to focus on the conversation. And to be present in the moment may require a conversation starter.

Get to know each other better, ask the question(s) you always wanted to ask.

Here are some sample questions to use with working adults:

  • What are you most excited about right now? Why?
  • What have you learned from this experience?
  • What is not perfect yet?
  • What are you willing to do to make it the way you want it?
  • What are you willing to NOT do to make it the way you want it?
  • How can you enjoy the process?
  • What is the most innovative thing you’ve done recently?
  • Focus on the conversation. Get to really know what is going on with this person.

Here are some sample questions to use when speaking with children:

  • What was your favorite part of the day?
  • What’s your favorite class or subject at school? Why?
  • What’s your least favorite or toughest subject at school? Why?
  • What was the biggest challenge for you right now?
  • What made you smile or feel happy today?
  • What made you frown or feel sad today?
  • What is your favorite thing to do with the family?

You can also ask children: “Would you rather” questions, such as “If you could choose a superpower, would you rather choose flying or invisibility? Why?”

Here are some sample questions to use when speaking with elders:

  • What do you remember about your parents and grandparents?
  • What do you want family and friends to remember about you?
  • What life advice would you pass on to your family and friends?
  • What was your favorite thing about school when you were young?
  • What were your friends like when you grew up?
  • What was your first job?
  • What was your favorite job?
  • Who were your heroes and role models when you were young?

There are many more questions than this that you can ask. 

Remember to look into the eyes of the person you are speaking with and have fun with the questions.

-RG

Top 5 List: Be A Better Co-worker

Top 5 List

As hybrid working, co-working, and open work environments become more popular people will be more likely to spend a significant part of their day working next to someone else. And there’s a greater chance that’ll be working next to someone they don’t know. In an effort to help maintain a comfortable and stress-free work environment we owe it to each other to be respectful, kind, and courteous. Here are a few tips for being a better co-worker.

Meetings – if there’s a need for a meeting okay then use a meeting room. To have a trusted colleague come over for a quick exchange is one thing and acceptable by most professionals. However having a small group meeting at your desk can be disruptive to everyone else in the workspace.

Eating – avoid turning your desk into a dinner table, there is no need to eat your desk. A cup of coffee and a small cookie or even a cup of fruit is fine. If you absolutely have to eat at your desk try to bring foods that don’t have strong smells.

Dress – showing too much skin can be offensive and can have a negative impact on the way that people perceive. You don’t always have to dress in professional business attire, just make sure that you’re not dressed for a day at the beach. A hoodie and sweatpants may not be the best option either.

Phone – be aware of others around you when speaking on the phone. Loud talkers may inadvertently share private or confidential information that others may not be interested in hearing. Be especially cautious of using a hands-free speaker. Trust that no one wants to hear your personal conversations. Consider stepping away from your workspace and the folks that you share the work environment with, if need be.Grooming – there should be absolutely no personal grooming at your desk. Some of the most offensive things that bother people the most include nail grooming, teeth flossing, and applying deodorant. Basically if you do it in the bathroom at home then you should NOT do it in the office.

-RG

Embrace Diversity In The Work Environment

There is no single (or preferred) strategy to help embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the work environment. It’s important that all members of the organization recognize that continuous forward motion is the only way to achieve success. Here are a few strategies to get started:

Start the conversation – this starts with the leadership team. Open the door, set the tone, and send a very clear message that DEI is something that will be discussed openly and acted upon.

Increase transparency and accountability – organizations that do not operate with a high level of transparency and understanding of what is being done to increase DEI, will not feel that enough is being done to make a sustained improvement.

Inclusive leadership skills must be developed – simply being aware of unconscious bias or having a basic business sense for DEI is not enough. Awareness is important, however, it doesn’t automatically mean that action will be taken. Leadership needs to learn the tools, understand the frameworks, and utilize the skills to help close the gap between theory and practice.

Take notice of diversity during conversations and decisions – leadership must create the conditions in which diverse viewpoints will be represented, they must be purposeful in seeking out people with opposing viewpoints, they must delegate equitably, and then proactively identify opportunities for all to maximize professional development.

Pay attention – the growing challenges of DEI efforts have been highlighted due to hybrid and virtual working conditions. Some groups have reported that the virtual working environments come as a relief where being at home has provided a safer place to conduct work during the pandemic. It is clear that flexible work arrangements bring huge benefits, it also creates a risk for widening the diversity gaps and possibly creating new ones. Leadership (and all other members of the organization) need to pay attention to how all people are being treated. Leaders should be intentional in the way they engage and acknowledge each person and their value to the organization.

Act as an ally – acting as an ally for someone is similar to being a catalyst for change. To embrace diversity in the workplace is to advocate on behalf of others and contribute to creating fair working conditions for everyone. Additionally acting as an ally becomes even more critical when supporting historically those groups that have been excluded and may face unique challenges.

Commit to change – to look inward is a very critical piece to enhancing a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Each member of the organization should consider their own leadership strengths and opportunities as they relate to these best behaviors and best practices.
Building a platform – it takes every member of an organization to take action to embrace diversity. It requires the work of the individual, the team, and the entire organization. This work is difficult, so all of those involved should be considerate of others by maintaining their coworker’s sense of self-esteem and demonstrating empathy. Empathy is key. Leadership should continue to spread the message that there is always work being done in this area as well as modeling the behaviors they want to see in their teams and develop a loop for feedback.

-RG

Reflection And Change

Tips for Faculty: Reflection and time to consider change

The pandemic resulted in a dramatic shift in instruction and learning models for college faculty. What began as temporary measures in response to an emergency may end as a catalyst for the transformation of higher education. The end of the fall semester is an opportunity to review and reflect on what is and is not working as institutions continue to navigate uncertain times.

Most campuses will welcome students back for full-time, in-person learning this fall. As a result of continuing COVID outbreaks, many courses are still being offered as a mix of in-person and online learning. The seismic disruption to higher education has resulted in the largest adoption of technology ever, allowing faculty to reconsider how they teach and explore new ways to teach, mentor, and coach students.

For all the upheaval, this has been a time of experimentation. Institutions have had to shake up every process and policy to respond to the needs of faculty and students. It is time to fully embrace technology, particularly with routine tasks. Technology can support faculty in spending most of their time in direct engagement with students in person or online.

This break between semesters is a good opportunity to reflect on new practices that promise flexibility in how instructors teach and assess their students. Questions to consider include:

  • Are there frequent opportunities for students to collaborate and learn from one another?
  • Are feedback loops between students and faculty open and productive?
  • Is course content and pedagogy still relevant after all this change?
  • Have new practices to stimulate student engagement been implemented?
  • Are equity and student success embedded in new practices?
  • Has the focus shifted from instructor-led to student-centered learning?
  • Do students have agency in how they manage their own learning process?
  • Are courses and topics connecting to students’ personal and career goals?

Faculty should be encouraged to take time to review and reflect on how the last 14-16 months have changed their teaching practice.

-RG