Professional Development

The growth mindset that has been described by Carol Dweck, where an individual possesses a desire to learn, is one that resonates with me as an educator at the tertiary level (Dweck 2006). I always ask myself, ‘How can I do better?’ I see my practice as once that is dynamic and innovative. For this reason, professional development is an important aspect of my teaching and research practice. Here I present two examples that illustrate my commitment to improved student experiences and learning.

Global Leadership Diploma (September 2021 – September 2022)

Between September 2021 to September 2022, I had an incredible opportunity to pursue a Diploma in Global Leadership with the University for Peace in Costa Rica. In fulfilment of this Diploma, I completed a diverse array of courses (i) Design Thinking, (ii) Positive Leadership, (iii) Social Media for Social Innovation, (iv) Educating in Changing Times: Reflect, Rethink and Rebuild, (v) Tackling Finance in the Social Sector: From Fundraising to Social Investment, (vi) Building Effective Teams: Design for Success. Every course in this Diploma was intentionally selected to improve either my teaching or research practice. My understanding about new and evolving concepts was deepened and I built transferrable skills that were important when tackling emerging issues. For example, in the course ‘Educating in Changing Times: Reflect, Rethink and Rebuild’, our final assessment prompted us to design a prototype of a model/solution that addressed an education challenge in our region. This was an authentic assessment that prompted me to hone in on an existing gap in the tertiary education system. It prompted me to move beyond simply having an idea to putting my thoughts on paper, talking to people about that idea and moving a step closer towards making that idea a reality. The conversations that I’ve had with people about the idea stimulated my thinking and resulted in me tweaking the idea. It has also caused me to put myself in the shoes of the target audience. Without a doubt, this process has allowed me to apply what I’ve learnt in two courses (Design Thinking and Educating in Changing Times) to a real-world problem. Similarly, we also had an authentic assessment in another course, ‘Tackling Finance in the Social Sector: From Fundraising to Social Investment’, whereby we had to create a funding strategy for a project of our choice. This course allowed me to tackle another aspect of getting my prototype ‘off the ground’. In another course, Social Media for Social Innovation, our final assessment was focused on designing a ‘Social Media Marketing Strategy’ for a project. As I pursued this Diploma, my role as a student allowed me to experience (i) the ‘Flipped Classroom’ approach in action, (ii) a diverse array of technology tools within the various courses, (iii) authentic assessments that drive student learning and, (iv) meaningful feedback on assessments. All of these first-hand experiences have motivated and inspired me to try many of these approaches in my own classroom. 

Certificate in Undergraduate Teaching and Learning (September 2022 – April 2023)

Prior to my enrolment in the CUTL program, I accumulated approximately 3.5 years of undergraduate teaching experience in 3 different settings (i) prior to the global COVID-19 pandemic, (ii) during the pandemic (transition to emergency remote teaching) and, (iii) the deceleration phase of the pandemic, with a return to teaching on campus. During that time, the only formal training that I received in higher education teaching was the workshops hosted by the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at The UWI, St. Augustine Campus. These workshops afforded me glimpses of concepts that I knew would be instrumental to improving my practice. For this reason, I enrolled in the CUTL program in September 2022 and undertook 4 courses (i) Teaching and Learning: Theory to Practice, (ii) Assessment in Higher Education, (iii) Advancing Teaching and Learning with Technology, (iv) Reflective Teaching for Learning. The CUTL journey, though challenging, has been a tremendously exciting one. I believe that the CUTL program was sets participants up for success beyond the borders of the program. In every course, I was introduced to brand new concepts and expected to put them into practice. Some of the concepts that personally resonated with me were (i) the Constructivism Theory, (ii) BOPPPS Model for Lesson Planning, (iii) Transparent Assessment Design (TAD) Model, (iv) Authentic Assessments, (v) Reflective Practice (Rolfe’s Framework for Reflective Practice, Brookfield’s Model), (vi) New Technology Tools to Advance Teaching and Learning, (vii) RISE Model for meaningful feedback, (viii) Peer Observation. Within the CUTL program, the authentic assessments allowed us to put into practice many of these concepts. Now that the CUTL program is drawing to an end, I am excited to integrate many of these new concepts into the courses that I will teach in the upcoming academic year (2023/2024). My teaching practice is a work in progress and I know that the students that I have not yet crossed paths with will benefit from the numerous concepts that I was introduced to in the CUTL program.

Reference

Dweck, C. S. (2016). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House.