And Then Suddenly, Last Summer…Faculty Professional Development During (and After) a Pandemic

Nova Southeastern University’s Experiential Education and Learning (ExEL) initiative relies on skilled professionals (faculty, staff, administrators) to design and facilitate active learning across various contexts including experiential coursework, service learning, internships, mentored research, and study abroad. In January 2020, the Office of ExEL in collaboration with the ExEL Advisory Council and NSU’s Learning and Educational Center launched its first ExEL Professional Development Series . With the intention of building individual and organizational capacity in experiential education across the university, the goal of this series was to improve knowledge, skills, and attitudes in experiential education and engage those involved in teaching and learning in discussions about how to design learning opportunities that include active learning, authentic experiences, and reflection in an intentional way.

While these sessions were intended to run face-to-face during the Winter 2020 term, we quickly pivoted to extend the series throughout the summer via Zoom and focus specifically on topics that were relevant to teaching and learning during the pandemic. Lessons learned about topic selection, how to leverage university technical and human resources, and how to use Zoom to facilitate active learning will be shared. This session is intended for anyone who is interested in learning more about how to develop and lead professional development opportunities online as well as engage various stakeholders across the university. We are at a turning point in higher education where change is occurring very fast. Steinert (2020) suggests that faculty development can serve as an impetus for “promoting organizational change and development…and move organisations forward” (p. 432). In order to raise the bar for K-20 (this year’s conference theme), everyone (faculty, staff, administration) involved in teaching and learning must be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to be successful educators. Professional development opportunities in various modalities can support both individual and organizational capacity building in teaching and learning. Discussion about how the pandemic has impacted faculty professional development and what the future holds will also be encouraged.

Reference: Steinert, Y. (2020). Faculty development: From rubies to oak. Medical Teacher, 42 (4), 429-435. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2019.1688769