• TEACHING & LEARNING TOOLS

    As a post-secondary institute faculty member, there are many available teaching and learning resources available to you both internally and externally.  

    INTERNAL TOOLS, or resources within your institution, you will have access to course/program curricula, which is the blueprint for student learning required in that areas.  In addition, there is a myriad of teaching and learning resources that will help you with your teaching strategies. 

    But you need to know WHERE to go to access these resources!  Do not be afraid to ask your chair to show you where to access these. Remember that institutions require faculty with knowledge, skill, expertise and critical judgement in their industries and often do NOT hire with the expectation of excellence in teaching. 

    Seek out new ideas, strategies and techniques that will really engage your students.  Not only will your students be more engaged, but you will enjoy your role much more!  Here are some examples of resources that are likely available to you:

    • Center for Teaching & Learning - this will be a department that is meant for faculty development.  An example of the TRU Center for Learning & Teaching is available HERE.
    • Resources to help you understand and utilize your Learning Management System such as MOODLE, Desire 2 Learn (D2L), Blackboard, Docebo, Google classroom, Canvas, etc. 
    • Resources to help you build exams including multiple choice questions and other styles of questions.  Some LMS's have very user friendly apps that can build exams for you OR help you upload a test bank of questions from a textbook.
    • Instructional Design staff help you understand how your course can be user friendly, accessible and interactive.
    • Dedicated IT staff to help you organize your Teams site, email accounts, online schedule, computer systems, desktop applications.
    • Dedicated staff to help you learn how to create a PowerPoint presentation, use the classroom multi-media space, run a class or course online using TEAMS, Zoom or other interactive platforms.

    You may also find courses and programs that YOU might like to take in your institution that will make your role as an educator more fruitful OR maybe invest in your education so that you can apply for a permanent teaching position!  Faculty usually have certain perks within your institution like tuition waivers or other incentives for enrolling in courses and programs.  Seek out departments called "program advisors" where trained staff are happy to chat with you about pathways to certain diplomas or degrees.  Additionally you can access a "career counselor" who can meet with you to discuss employment endeavors.

    EXTERNAL TOOLS for teaching and learning are those that help you understand how your industry or profession connects with student learning.  This may be an external source of evaluation of your program within the institution, such as a professional accreditation or program review process, a provincial standardization of your curriculum or for students accessing courses for purposes of transferring into or out of another institution, or a governing licensing body that students will eventually have to acquire licensure with.

    For example:

    • In NURSING and HEALTHCARE, there are programs that are articulated or streamlined across the province.  The Practical Nursing Program and Healthcare Assistant Program are examples.  This means that anywhere in BC these programs are exactly the same so that students who may need to transfer in or out of programs in different cities can do so relatively easily.  The British Columbia Council for Admissions & Transfer (BCCAT) is the name of this organization.
    • In TRADES such as electrician, welding, mechanics, etc., the course curricula is guided by Skilled Trades BC.  This organization outlines the minimum requirements for trades programs and therefore, what a students needs to achieve in order to pass and achieve a red seal.
    • Many programs that are provincially funded, monitored and updated are housed in an online repository called the BC Campus.  This site also contains resources, not only including the curriculum for each program but also a variety of teaching and learning tools.

    Teaching & learning resources are also available in outside networks.  As a NEW FACULTY member you will be encouraged to take the INSTRUCTIONAL SKILLS WORKSHOP (ISW).  The ISW is a 4-5 day workshop designed for new faculty to learn the basics of teaching a class session.  Some faculty positions, such as TRADES, actually requires faculty to have or acquire the ISW certificate as an employment requirement.  One perk of being faculty is that this workshop (usually about 800$) will be FREE to you as an employee and it is recognized both Nationally and Internationally.

    Below are some other websites or online resources that might help you further your teaching and learning expertise!