QCC-ACUE Online Professional Development Courses

February 10, 2021
Dear Colleagues,
Queensborough Community College is excited to offer our faculty a professional development opportunity in online pedagogy as part of our commitment to instructional excellence and student success. Through a partnership between the CUNY system and the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), the Office of Academic Affairs is able to offer 60 full time faculty members the opportunity to enroll in one of two online courses from ACUE, Creating an Inclusive and Supportive Online Learning Environment or Promoting Active Learning Online.Faculty members who complete one of the two courses will receive a modest stipend.

These workshops were also offered in Fall 2020 and 57 of your peers took one of the two workshops. Among the participants, 94% reported that the workshops were helpful in refining their teaching practices and would recommend them to a colleague. Our decision to offer the workshops again in Spring 2021 is based on their positive assessments of the experience.
ABOUT THE COURSES
                                       ABOUT THE COURSES
CREATING AN INCLUSIVE AND SUPPORTIVE ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
This course will provide you with practices to enable you to create an optimal online environment to support learning—including how to increase student engagement, embrace diversity and help students persist in meeting academic challenges.
You will learn with a professionally facilitated online cohort of about 30 QCC colleagues, with whom you will share insights and ideas. This course is organized around the following seven competencies.
·      Welcoming Students to Online Learning
·      Promoting Civil Online Learning
·      Engaging Underprepared Students in Online Learning
·      Helping Students Persist in Online Learning
·      Embracing Diversity in Online Learning
·      Checking for Student Understanding in Online Learning
·      Providing Useful Feedback for Online Learning
This course will be facilitated by Dr. Meg Tarafdar, Assistant Professor of English and Interim Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
PROMOTING ACTIVE LEARNING ONLINE
This course will provide you with practices to more actively engage your students in varied learning formats including small- and large-group activities, discussions, and microlectures.
You will learn with a professionally facilitated online cohort of about 30 QCC colleagues, with whom you will share insights and ideas. This course is organized around the following six competencies.
  • Developing Effective Modules and Microlectures
  • Teaching Powerful Note-taking Online
  • Using Groups to Ensure Active Online Learning
  • Using the Active Learning Cycle in Online Courses
  • Planning Effective Online Discussions
  • Facilitating Engaging Online Discussions
This course will be facilitated by Dr. Michael Pullin, Associate Dean for Academics.
This opportunity is offered at no cost to you or your department. The course is open to all ranks of full-time instructors (professors and lecturers) in any discipline.
Upon completing the requirements for this course, you will earn a microcredential in Creating an Inclusive and Supportive Online Learning Environment or Promoting Active Learning Online. This digital badge can which can be added to your curriculum vitae, used in online teaching portfolios, and displayed on LinkedIn profiles or webpages as a sign of your achievement. The microcredential may be utilized in meeting partial requirements necessary to earn the American Council on Education (ACE) endorsed Certificate in Effective College Instruction.
ABOUT ACUE COURSES
In ACUE courses, faculty learn about and implement proven teaching approaches. Independently validated research confirms that students are more engaged, learn more, and complete courses in greater numbers—more equitably with their peers—when taught by ACUE-credentialed educators.
Of the tens of thousands of faculty members who have enrolled in ACUE’s courses (many at community colleges):
  • 93% found the course content relevant to their work
  • 95% found the course helpful in refining their teaching practice
  • 89% would recommend the course to a colleague
DEADLINES AND APPLICATION INFORMATION
The courses begin on March 5, 2021.
  • Cohorts typically complete one module per week over 6-7 weeks. We’re allowing 9 weeks to complete all of the modules.
  • Internal ACUE research indicates that a faculty member spends approximately 2-3 hours of activity per week, on average, in the course.
We have a limited number of seats (60) available! Interested faculty are encouraged to apply by February 26, 2021.  You may click here to complete a very short application. Preference will be given to those who have already taken part in OET’s E-learning Institute or the School for Professional Studies course. Every effort will be made to include an equitable distribution of faculty from every department. Apply now to reserve your spot! Please contact Michael Pullin (mpullin@qcc.cuny.edu) or Meg Tarafdar (mtarafdar@qcc.cuny.edu) for more information.
Thank you,

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