We are all Educators: Piloting a Workshop to Prepare University Staff to Act as Effective Educators
Awardees: David Havelick, Kris Markman (CADM)
Summary: Awardees will create resources and a workshop that will enable staff members to more effectively act as educators when working with students on formal and informal projects.
Due to the increase in leadership’s encouragement for staff to engage with students on projects that enhance their learning, awardees aim to develop a workshop and related resources that will provide guidance on informal teaching and learning. The workshop will help staff to develop and enhance instructional competencies needed to deliver and evaluate high-quality learning experiences. It will be piloted with staff members working on projects funded by the Campus Sustainability Innovation Fund (CSIF).
The project team will develop and curate resources that will create the backbone of a workshop for staff who are already acting as educators in formal and informal ways. This includes tools for creating and evaluating projects managed by staff members that have an explicit educational goal, and an introduction to: (1) key learning theories and frameworks, (2) how to develop learning objectives, (3) instructional strategies, and (4) how to measure and evaluate educational outcomes. The team will open the workshop, beyond those working on CSIF projects, to a small number of staff members who are already acting as educators both formally and informally. A pre- and post-workshop questionnaire and interviews will allow the project team to identify ways to improve the training for future iterations. Resources created as part of this pilot will be made available publicly at the end of the project, and the workshop will then be offered to more staff members over time.