In late August, Niagara College’s Centre for Academic Excellence (CAE) welcomed 60 part-time faculty to its Part-time Teachers’ Development Program (PTTDP).
The PTTDP has been a hallmark program for NC that has seen consistently positive feedback from the part-time faculty who complete it. The program has recently undergone a major re-design that was built on output from discussions with a number of focus groups and key stakeholders across the College. The updated program includes significant changes in delivery format and session content to improve the availability and flexibility of training for faculty and place greater emphasis on the contemporary needs of NC learners.
The PTTDP is now offered twice, pre-term, three times each year in April, August, and December (including Saturday options). Major content changes include the delivery of workshops focused on inclusivity, academic integrity, and Blackboard basics. For the first time in the history of the PTTDP, non-full-time faculty are now compensated for completing the full, 10.5-hour program. To promote engagement with the college and enhance a sense of community and belonging, all PTTDP participants continue to receive timely emails throughout the semester about important academic topics and resources, and they will be invited to attend a mid-semester reunion and networking event.
This is what this year’s participants had to say about the newly designed program:
- “Impressed with the program to give all part-time instructors the same tools to administer in their classes. Very professional and uniform instruction that will assist all to ensure students are getting the best education possible.”
- “I loved the interaction and the sharing of experiences, everything was well done.”
- “The Panel was great as we were able to chat in a very informal way to people who’d been in our exact position. It was also perfectly timed. It wouldn’t have been as effective anywhere else, great way to end the session. The Diverse Learners session was another favourite. It shows that NC is exactly the type of place I’d like to be a part of, exactly the type of learning environment I’d want for my students and my children to see me as a part of.”
As always, a key success factor of the program are the faculty and staff at the College who are involved in its delivery. A big thank you to the following:
- Benchmark Restaurant for its stellar food and service;
- Matt Sajn and Kristine Clark who led a session on effective lesson planning;
- Jay Burdon and his team members Isabel Silveira and Bobby Kaspar for sharing information about Health, Wellness and Accessibility;
- Daryl Pooley, Isa Mottiar and Stephen Carroll for sitting on a panel to share their experiences as part-time faculty;
- Claire Price who provided background on the new process for Academic Honesty.
For additional information on the PTTDP, including our next offerings, please visit the CAE website.
Story submitted by NC’s Centre for Academic Excellence.
