For Your Health
For Your Health

News from the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences

TLAS announces second Teaching Academy focused on Active Independent Learning

Teaching during the pandemic showed us a lot about the power and the pitfalls of remote education. One of those lessons learned is that just as we can shift the location of learning, we have found we can shift the time of that learning by creating asynchronous learning activities that can be completed independently (independent learning) or as an extension of face-to-face learning. However, doing so effectively can be harder than face-to-face teaching. How do we incorporate active learning strategies into independent learning? What kinds of objectives and outcomes are best suited to independent learning? How do we provide feedback, guidance, and support to our students when we are not present? What does assessment of independent learning look like?

The TLAS Teaching Academy is an intensive series of faculty development activities and tasks designed to build competency and expertise in a variety of teaching strategies in support of student success. This spring, TLAS will once again recruit up to 10 faculty from across the SMHS for the 2022–23 Teaching Academy to study this question and to develop a range of high-quality, active independent learning (AIL) strategies. Recruitment will target a diverse representation of faculty across all programs in the SMHS who are committed to teaching and education scholarship and who have an identified need for AIL that can be implemented in their curriculum.

Members of the 2022–23 Academy will engage in the study of Active Independent Learning (AIL) and will work to meet a curricular need for AIL in their programs. In doing so, they will have access to and guidance related to a variety of technologies, tools, strategies, and models, including access to the new Media Recording Studio. The Media Recording Studio employs a wide range of capabilities, including lecture capture, video recording equipment, 360-degree video cameras, and authoring software for interactive learning, media creation, and editing assets. Academy members will engage in professional development activities focused on theory, practice, and technology of AIL, including workshops, online learning modules, supervised independent projects, and one-on-one coaching and mentoring with experts from Education Resources and Library Resources. After completing the program, each faculty member will have a new resource, tool, program, module, or otherwise operationalized teaching strategy enabling them to support students through independent, interactive learning, as well as an educational scholarship plan for its use. Graduates will receive a $600 professional development stipend and professional development badges documenting their achievements.

Watch your email for the official details and the call for applications. Direct questions to Adrienne Salentiny at adrienne.salentiny@UND.edu.