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Academy for Teaching Transformation

faculty in classroom

Originally designed to support new faculty and instructional staff members at Montgomery College, the Academy for Teaching Transformation it is now open to all full-time and part-time faculty, and to all instructional staff.

The Academy covers various topics essential for effective instruction and is taught by MC faculty and staff who bridge the gap between theory and practice. This approach supports a systemic effort to bring about change in the classroom practices of faculty and instructional staff by exploring attitudes and beliefs and the intended learning outcomes of students they serve (Guskey, 2002).

Through a series of three interconnected sessions, each Academy program is designed to provide opportunities for faculty and instructional staff to become actively involved in meaningful discussions, content planning, and learning activities that support collaboration, problem-solving, and knowledge sharing (Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, Yoon, 2001).

Upon successful completion of the Academy, participants are awarded professional development credit.

NEW! ACADEMY FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING BADGE: TEACHING ESSENTIALS: INNOVATION AND TRANSFORMATION

Since the spring of 2022, ELITE has attached a formally recognized Montgomery College badge, also called a micro-credential, to the completion of selected workshop series in The Academy for Teaching Transformation.

To earn the Teaching Essentials: Innovation and Transformation badge, participants partake in the three interconnected workshops that comprise the Academy and fulfill extra assignments, resulting in a portfolio-style document. The document reflects the participant's intense involvement in bringing the pedagogical principles discussed in the three interconnected workshops into practice. A portfolio-style deliverable reflects the badge earner's work in designing and implementing teaching innovation based on the Academy topic. The portfolio consists of a reflection journal, a description of the stages in a Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) process, and an annotated lesson plan. 

A selected Academy workshop series will have this badge option available every fall and spring semester. Please see the FAQs pagenew window to learn more about what earning a badge entails at Montgomery College.  

Please register in MC Learns through Workday.


Information Video

Watch the Academy for Teaching Transformation information videonew window with Dr. Carolien Annink to learn more about the program. 


Spring 2024 Workshop Series

Facilitator: Matthew Decker
Fridays, 2:00-4:00 PM, via Zoom
Session 1 - February 23 | Session 2 - March 22 | Session 3 - April 26

In this workshop series, participants will be introduced to the vast and dynamic world of Digital Storytelling, an innovative pedagogy established by StoryCenter in California and later implemented by artists, activists, and educators across the globe. Montgomery College already boasts an active Community of Practice in Digital Storytelling that is supported by the Digital Storytelling Internship. For faculty members interested in designing a rewarding assignment for students that blends written communication, collaboration, and technology literacy, this workshop series will introduce the process for scaffolding a Digital Story project in any class. Participants will learn more about Digital Storytelling as a high-impact practice, create their own digital stories using multiple video editing platforms, and develop strategies for incorporating this unique assignment into their courses.

Participants must complete all three sessions to receive credit for the workshop series.

Upon completion of this workshop series, participants will be able to:
• Define and describe what makes a Digital Story and contextualize its value as a high-impact innovative pedagogy
• Develop strategies for incorporating a Digital Story assignment into a course: Design, implement and evaluate the assignment
• Create a Digital Story, beginning with a script and concluding with a video edit.
• Navigate and utilize video editing platforms, including Adobe Spark and WeVideo.
• Identify and access resources beyond this workshop series for further support

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Facilitators:  Debra Poese & Dawn Downey
Fridays, 2:00-4:00 PM Asynchronous via Blackboard

Session 1 - February 19 - 26 | Session 2 - March 18 - 25 | Session 3 - April 22 - 29

Well prepared, highly motivated students often come with the necessary skills to be successful with the rigor and structure of an online or hybrid class, but many students still need support in managing the unique requirements of such a class. This three-session online course is designed for faculty teaching online or with online experience who would like to enhance the success of their students with intentional emphasis on developing students’ self-management, interdependence, and metacognitive abilities.

Delivery method: Asynchronous via Blackboard
 
Participants must complete all three sessions to receive credit for the workshop series.

Upon completion of this workshop series, participants will be able to:
• Adapt or create student success strategies for time management/time commitment strategies
• Integrate student success strategies for building intentional community among students in small groups and class wide
• Design and incorporate student success strategies for student reflection
• Implement student success strategies that encourage depth of engagement, level of motivation, and achievement of course and assignment outcomes

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Facilitators: Sara Kalifa & Carolien Annink
Fridays, 2:00-4:00 PM, via Zoom
Session 1 - February 23 | Session 2 - March 22 | Session 3 - April 26

Are you genuinely interested in understanding how students learn and how best to engage students, particularly our nontraditional, first-gen and underserved student populations? In this workshop series, the seminal Seven Principles of Good Undergraduate Education will be re-examined with the concept of engaged teaching in the post-pandemic college classroom in mind. Participants will discuss high-quality instruction in face-to-face, online and hybrid classrooms, and deepen their knowledge with practical applications of theory and research, and with participants’ experiences for real-world teaching and learning
 
Participants must complete all three sessions to receive credit for the workshop series.

Upon completion of this workshop series, participants will be able to:
• Discuss and critique the Seven Principles with a post-pandemic & an engaged college teaching perspective
• Analyze their own teaching practice within the framework of the Seven Principles and engaged teaching
• Compare and contrast their experiences, with new pedagogical information and colleagues’ experiences
• Design, deliver and evaluate course plans for their current courses

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Facilitators: Paul Miller & Gloria Barron
Fridays, 2:00-4:00 PM, via Zoom
Session 1 - February 23 | Session 2 - March 22 | Session 3 - April 26

Discover how AI and ChatGPT can revolutionize education and enhance student learning outcomes by attending this new Academy Series for Fall '23. Learn about the basics of AI and its ethical implications, explore the capabilities and limitations of ChatGPT, and develop a plan for implementing this cutting-edge technology in your classroom. Gain valuable insights from expert facilitators and collaborate with a community of like-minded educators. Don't miss out on this opportunity to transform your teaching approach and prepare your students for the future!
 
Participants must complete all three sessions to receive credit for the workshop series.
 
Upon completion of this workshop series, participants will be able to:
• Describe the potential applications of AI in education,
• Develop a clear plan for implementing ChatGPT in education and preparedness for implementation,
• Evaluate selected literature and case studies on implementing AI in education.

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Facilitators: Angela Lanier & Bonita Parker
Wednesdays, 2:00-4:00 PM, via Zoom
Session 1 - February 21 | Session 2 - March 20 | Session 3 - April 24

Action research is “a disciplined process of inquiry conducted by and for those taking the action” (The Institute for the Study of Inquiry in Education). In this workshop series, participants will identify a pedagogical goal and implement an action research plan (ARP) to enhance student success. As part of ARP creation, participants will explore the benefits and challenges of using data analysis in action research as a consistent part of their instruction. Participants will apply relevant, current data to their work and will develop procedures for enhancing their own data collection for ongoing action research.

Participants must complete all three sessions to receive credit for the workshop series.

Upon completion of this workshop series, participants will be able to:
• Define an action research plan (ARP) and articulate the purpose of action research in their courses
• Explore the types of data that could support action research relevant to their courses
• Articulate their own ARP, and design an appropriate strategy for implementing their own ARPs
• Effectively communicate the results of their research
• Use data to refine an ARP to continue the assessment cycle

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Frequently Asked Questions 

While strongly recommended to full-time faculty in their first, second, and third year of teaching at MC, the program is open to all MC faculty, full-time and part-time, and to instructional staff. Each semester, faculty and instructional staff sign up for one workshop series. An Academy for Teaching Transformation workshop series consists of three monthly, synchronous meetings, focused on one pedagogical theme. 

Some of the topics are offered every semester, and new, relevant topics will be added each year.

Participants are expected to attend all three sessions of that series on the designated afternoons listed throughout the semester. If you are unable to attend all three sessions, you will be dropped from the series.

No, you will have the choice of completing the extra work associated with the digital badge if it is available in the session that you select.

The Academy was designed in support of two MC 2025 Goals: Goal 2--Enhancing Transformational Teaching Practices and Goal 4--Supporting and Investing in MC Employees. 

For more information, please contact Dr. Carolien Annink, Academy Coordinator.