Attribute 2: Advance learning and teaching practice through critical self-reflection, evaluation and research
As a teacher, I find the evaluation process to be a critical part of my education delivery, providing me an opportunity to reflect on what has worked and what needs to be improved in the future.
In my current role, two of my main roles are to design and deliver Corporate Education programs to aid professional development of my students, while also designing and delivering the Mandatory Orientation Education program for all new staff joining the organisation. Below links to two documents are available. The first is a summary of the feedback received from students of Corporate Education programs that I delivered for the Performance Year 2014-2015. Students were asked to rate courses based on 10 criteria on a 3 point scale, and the attachment shows the percentage distribution based on this student feedback. The second is a summary of feedback provided from participants of the Mandatory Orientation program. This feedback has been captured as part of a larger survey for new staff members 2 months after they start their new jobs to capture feedback on their overall onboarding process. In the attached summary I have included those parts of the survey relating specifically to the Orientation Education program, including their satisfaction with the program and the achievement of key program objectives.
In my current role, two of my main roles are to design and deliver Corporate Education programs to aid professional development of my students, while also designing and delivering the Mandatory Orientation Education program for all new staff joining the organisation. Below links to two documents are available. The first is a summary of the feedback received from students of Corporate Education programs that I delivered for the Performance Year 2014-2015. Students were asked to rate courses based on 10 criteria on a 3 point scale, and the attachment shows the percentage distribution based on this student feedback. The second is a summary of feedback provided from participants of the Mandatory Orientation program. This feedback has been captured as part of a larger survey for new staff members 2 months after they start their new jobs to capture feedback on their overall onboarding process. In the attached summary I have included those parts of the survey relating specifically to the Orientation Education program, including their satisfaction with the program and the achievement of key program objectives.
evaluation_summary_from_corporate_education_programs_for_performance_year_2014-2015.pdf | |
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evaluation_summary_from_mandatory_orientation_education_for_performance_year_2014-2015.pdf | |
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I find reflecting on these student feedback to be very insightful. When looking at the feedback received on the delivery of my Corporate Education programs, overall my ratings are positive, with only 3% being unsatisfied with the courses delivered. In addition linking to my teaching philosophy, one of my strengths as a teacher appears to be my ability to engage students actively, as I strive to provide practical and hands-on learning experiences. Even out of the small percentage of students who rated my courses negatively, none were unsatisfied with their opportunities to engage actively in courses. One of the key components of course feedback I have had the opportunity to reflect on significantly has been the level of difficulty of courses. A high number of students have rated the difficulty level of courses I run as simple. That can either be interpreted as a good thing, as I provide education delivery that makes it easy for students to access and understand a topic, but it could also be seen as a bad thing, as students are not being challenged by the content of the courses. Overall the programs are still rated positively, so the simplicity itself is not necessarily a bad thing, however it has made me think of how I can further challenge students in further courses. In the previous performance year, our department was focused on establishing the groundwork of a corporate education program, so many of our courses targeted a basic or fundamental level of knowledge, so our priority in course design for the 2015-2016 performance year is to introduce more advanced topics of learning to build off what has already been delivered.
In addition to reflecting on my delivery of Corporate Education programs, reviewing evaluations of my delivery of Mandatory Orientation has been an opportunity for further reflection. The feedback collected from students also centered around the achievement of learning objectives for the program. Although most students believed the stated learning objectives had been achieved, and very few believed they were not, a significant percentage (approx. 20%) of responses indicated objectives were only somewhat achieved. This provided another opportunity for reflection regarding education design, and was a key contributing factor towards the development of eLearning modules to complement the classroom delivery of Orientation Education which is outlined in Case Study 1. This example made me appreciate that multiple modes of learning are beneficial in the effective achievement of learning objectives.
While formal evaluation processes provide an opportunity for self-reflection, I also look for opportunities to improve my own teaching practice independent of these formal evaluation processes. A recent example is my delivery of the course Time and Priority Management. Originally designed and run as a two day course, after the first delivery of the course I revisited the course design. I realised, ironically, that the split over 2 days was an inefficient use of time, and that the course can be run as a one day program while still achieving the learning objectives set for the program. As such I adjusted the program to be a one day program, while following up with students outside of the classroom to check application of learning to work practice. The workbooks of both versions are available below (for the flow followed in each version you can view the second page of each workbook).
In addition to reflecting on my delivery of Corporate Education programs, reviewing evaluations of my delivery of Mandatory Orientation has been an opportunity for further reflection. The feedback collected from students also centered around the achievement of learning objectives for the program. Although most students believed the stated learning objectives had been achieved, and very few believed they were not, a significant percentage (approx. 20%) of responses indicated objectives were only somewhat achieved. This provided another opportunity for reflection regarding education design, and was a key contributing factor towards the development of eLearning modules to complement the classroom delivery of Orientation Education which is outlined in Case Study 1. This example made me appreciate that multiple modes of learning are beneficial in the effective achievement of learning objectives.
While formal evaluation processes provide an opportunity for self-reflection, I also look for opportunities to improve my own teaching practice independent of these formal evaluation processes. A recent example is my delivery of the course Time and Priority Management. Originally designed and run as a two day course, after the first delivery of the course I revisited the course design. I realised, ironically, that the split over 2 days was an inefficient use of time, and that the course can be run as a one day program while still achieving the learning objectives set for the program. As such I adjusted the program to be a one day program, while following up with students outside of the classroom to check application of learning to work practice. The workbooks of both versions are available below (for the flow followed in each version you can view the second page of each workbook).
time_&_priority_management_workbook_-_original.pdf | |
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time_&_priority_management_workbook_-_january_18_rev..pdf | |
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In addition as outlined by Hegarty (2013) for "reflection to extend to critical reflection, practitioners must engage in critical thinking and question the status quo". Evaluating this Time and Priority Management course, I questioned the status quo of relying only on classroom training delivery, which has been the most common form of education delivery within our organisation. I critically looked at the education content to consider what could be delivered in alternative methods, which saw the development of eLearning materials to complement classroom delivery. An example of this can be found below in the short Priority Matrix training I developed with our in-house eLearning designers:
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Login using username: gdte
Password: gdte123
Module title: Priority Matrix
To access eLearning click here
Login using username: gdte
Password: gdte123
Module title: Priority Matrix
Furthermore I look to constantly develop my teaching practice through further research. I have recently enrolled in a Doctorate of Business Administration to pursue research formally in aid of developing my own practice. More information about my research focus can be found in Attribute 4. Apart from formal research however, I constantly look for research opportunities to advance my own practice. An example includes my recent work to redesign the evaluation processes of our organisation's education activities. Based on the work of Kirkpatrick (1994), I have recently redesigned our organisation's evaluation forms to evaluate different levels of learning, not only Reaction which equates to Level 1 on Kirkpatrick's levels of learning, but also Level 2 as it relates to Learning, and Level 3 as it relates to Behaviour, and namely change in behaviour as a result of learning. To-date I have developed revised organisational evaluation forms that will be completed through our Learning Management System by students, including a more in-depth initial evaluation to assess Reaction and Learning levels, and an evaluation to be completed 3 months later to evaluate change in workplace behaviour. I am further looking at evaluation forms for managers to evaluate change in workplace behaviour from their perspective. Through better evaluation processes I believe we can improve the quality of education delivered in our organisation.
level_1_&_2_partcipant_evaluation_questions.pdf | |
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level_3_participant_evaluation_questions.pdf | |
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