Proposed Curriculum for a Multi-Campus Educator Training Course

Christoph Johannes Sielmann; Casey James Keulen; ANGELA Mercy RUTAKOMOZIBWA

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Zone IV Conference
Location: Vancouver
Publication Date: May 12, 2022
Start Date: May 12, 2022
End Date: May 14, 2022
Conference Session: Curriculum Challenges
Tagged Topic: Conference Submission
Page Count: 12
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--44751
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/44751
Download Count: 158

Paper Authors

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Christoph Johannes Sielmann P.Eng. University of British Columbia, Vancouver

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Dr. Sielmann is an Assistant Professor of Teaching at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Mechanical Engineering supporting both Mechatronics and Manufacturing Engineering programs. His research interests including multi-campus instruction, decolonization in engineering, and engineering ethics.

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Casey James Keulen University of British Columbia, Vancouver

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ANGELA Mercy RUTAKOMOZIBWA

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Abstract

This abstract will be followed up with a full paper submission and presentation.

In multi-campus teaching, instructors host a course at one location while concurrently teaching remote cohorts at other locations using information and communication technology (ICT). Courses taught in this format typically use specially equipped rooms with cameras, microphones, and large projection screens. When executed well, multi-campus courses provide students with a greater variety of study options, extend the reach of exceptional instructors, and offer institutions opportunities for cost savings. In some contexts, courses taught using ICT can help bridge cultural boundaries, improve cross-pollination of ideas between institutions, and bring comprehensive, sophisticated programs to rural areas.

Despite dramatic innovations in teaching and communications technology, there remain grand challenges to implementing multi-campus programs effectively. Educators, including instructors, course designers, teaching assistants (TA), and program administrators, must be prepared to overcome problems with technology, equity in learning, trust, fairness, and community building through innovative and targeted pedagogy, technology, and management. Equity in learning is particularly difficult to achieve as access to libraries, study spaces, lab equipment, and other educational resources can vary significantly between cohorts. Instructors supporting remote cohorts, often TAs, are often less experienced with direct facilitation, leading to perceivably inequitable student classroom experience. To address these challenges, a multi-campus instructional course has been developed as a training program primarily targeting HEI engineering educators to equip participants with the skills necessary to design and deliver high quality multi-campus programs.

The training course is modular, providing completion pathways for course instructors (~10 hours), course designers (~10 hours), TAs (~3 hours), and program administrators (~3 hours). Any course attendee may complete all modules with very little redundancy, resulting in approximately 14 hours of material, including learning activities. The curriculum covers introductory topics related to multi-campus instruction, course evaluation, blended learning, design considerations, remote facilitation, administration, maintenance, and additional themes. Both curricular and pedagogical topics are explored, with practical examples drawn from literature provided to highlight recommended best practices.

As implemented, the curriculum includes both self-paced asynchronous and synchronous components and is intended to be offered in conjunction with a learning management system (LMS). A complete course has been developed from the curriculum with initial delivery planned in 2022. Following a pilot launch, feedback will be analyzed on the efficacy of the training, with commensurate adjustments to the curriculum and course content applied as needed. Immediate, measurable improvements to the design and delivery of multi-campus courses within engineering programs are anticipated once multi-campus training commences. ICT-based education is technology dependent and context sensitive, where multi-campus program curricula and pedagogy must evolve continuously with the learning tools used to enable the classroom. Correspondingly, the curriculum herein proposed must adapt to remain current with technological and educational trends.

Citation
Format

Sielmann, C. J., & Keulen, C. J., & RUTAKOMOZIBWA, A. M. (2022, May), Proposed Curriculum for a Multi-Campus Educator Training Course Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Zone IV Conference, Vancouver. 10.18260/1-2--44751

TY - CPAPER
AB - This abstract will be followed up with a full paper submission and presentation.

In multi-campus teaching, instructors host a course at one location while concurrently teaching remote cohorts at other locations using information and communication technology (ICT). Courses taught in this format typically use specially equipped rooms with cameras, microphones, and large projection screens. When executed well, multi-campus courses provide students with a greater variety of study options, extend the reach of exceptional instructors, and offer institutions opportunities for cost savings. In some contexts, courses taught using ICT can help bridge cultural boundaries, improve cross-pollination of ideas between institutions, and bring comprehensive, sophisticated programs to rural areas.

Despite dramatic innovations in teaching and communications technology, there remain grand challenges to implementing multi-campus programs effectively. Educators, including instructors, course designers, teaching assistants (TA), and program administrators, must be prepared to overcome problems with technology, equity in learning, trust, fairness, and community building through innovative and targeted pedagogy, technology, and management. Equity in learning is particularly difficult to achieve as access to libraries, study spaces, lab equipment, and other educational resources can vary significantly between cohorts. Instructors supporting remote cohorts, often TAs, are often less experienced with direct facilitation, leading to perceivably inequitable student classroom experience. To address these challenges, a multi-campus instructional course has been developed as a training program primarily targeting HEI engineering educators to equip participants with the skills necessary to design and deliver high quality multi-campus programs.

The training course is modular, providing completion pathways for course instructors (~10 hours), course designers (~10 hours), TAs (~3 hours), and program administrators (~3 hours). Any course attendee may complete all modules with very little redundancy, resulting in approximately 14 hours of material, including learning activities. The curriculum covers introductory topics related to multi-campus instruction, course evaluation, blended learning, design considerations, remote facilitation, administration, maintenance, and additional themes. Both curricular and pedagogical topics are explored, with practical examples drawn from literature provided to highlight recommended best practices.

As implemented, the curriculum includes both self-paced asynchronous and synchronous components and is intended to be offered in conjunction with a learning management system (LMS). A complete course has been developed from the curriculum with initial delivery planned in 2022. Following a pilot launch, feedback will be analyzed on the efficacy of the training, with commensurate adjustments to the curriculum and course content applied as needed. Immediate, measurable improvements to the design and delivery of multi-campus courses within engineering programs are anticipated once multi-campus training commences. ICT-based education is technology dependent and context sensitive, where multi-campus program curricula and pedagogy must evolve continuously with the learning tools used to enable the classroom. Correspondingly, the curriculum herein proposed must adapt to remain current with technological and educational trends.

AU - Christoph Johannes Sielmann P.Eng.
AU - Casey James Keulen
AU - ANGELA Mercy RUTAKOMOZIBWA
CY - Vancouver
DA - 2022/05/12
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Proposed Curriculum for a Multi-Campus Educator Training Course
UR - https://peer.asee.org/44751
DO - 10.18260/1-2--44751
ER -