Conference Presentations

This session will explore the intersection of faculty development and the implementation of Quality Matters at a public higher education institution. It offers a comprehensive overview of how a data-driven approach can be leveraged to enhance faculty development programs and effectively integrate the QM framework in course design to impact student learning. The presentation will provide actionable takeaways and best practices for using data to evaluate faculty development and QM implementation.

This session highlights ways to expand equitable access to Career and Technical Education opportunities by exploring a new, innovative military career pathway. Attendees will learn about the pathway creation process, best practices for sustainable curriculum development, and strategies for engaging underserved students in niche options only available to well-resourced schools.

Actual pathways expedite transmission along a given route, whether a trail through the forest, the organizational chart in a company, or the synergy that occurs when two or more concepts align. Connections are the true foundation of learning. In this session we'll explore the connections that motivate learners, advance concepts, and integrate learning systems and how these connected pathways contribute to enriching the foundation for learning.

Does your institution struggle with the “best” method to assess student writing? We will compare the processes and results of three methods used to assess student writing at the institution level, including a new LMS tool, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each method.Does your institution struggle with the “best” method to assess student writing? We will compare the processes and results of three methods used to assess student writing at the institution level, including a new LMS tool, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

Upper-level undergraduate peer mentors were implemented in an introductory seminar for psychology transfer students. Mentors attended weekly meetings with instructors, shared personal experiences, led discussions, modeled participation during class, and met one-on-one with students. Data from both mentors and mentees highlight the positive impact this experience had for students. Benefits and challenges will be discussed, with a focus on how attendees may integrate peer mentors into their programs.   

Universities with limited resources to commit to online learning may find the peer mentor model a helpful means to lay the groundwork for increased institutional support, as well as a means of engaging faculty in the online/hybrid program development process.

This presentation shares the initial results of a QM funded research project empirically examing Texas A&M University-Central Texas' internal peer review processes and their associated training and faculty involvement, to determine their effectiveness and utility in improving the online components of online courses to meet nationally recognized QM standards.  The research also applied the "Theory of Planned Behavior" to examine the faculty's attitudes, beliefs and norms underlying their participation in the peer review process.

This study of full-time faculty from a large HE system explored faculty perception of impact on students and possible changes to teaching strategies (online and f2f), and asked about preferences related to professional development regarding participation in an official QM course review.

Presentation Site:  https://sites.google.com/site/qmtechtools2015/

Start with tools that already meet Standards, rather than choosing tools that you "hope" meet Standards or ones that certainly don't. Join us to explore a list of web-based technologies and tools that meet QM Standards for privacy, accessibility, currency, engagement, and obtainability, and learn how these tools are used in the online classroom.

Quality Matters Standards promote establishing connections between the student and the instructor, the content, and their peers to promote student success.  In today's landscape of various learning modalities (Zoom, hybrid, distance, online, and high flex, to name a few), even experienced faculty members may be struggling to find ways to best establish these connections with and for their students.  High quality, intentional course design is now more important than ever.

Join us as we tackle the critical issue of fostering human connections in K-12 online education amid the sea of technology in students’ daily lives. Explore strategies from our program to intentionally foster community and personal connections with students across the state. Collaborate with fellow participants on increasing online student engagement and performance through intentional instructional strategies for personalization, teacher professional development, and blended learning models.

Photovoice, originally developed as a qualitative research method, can serve as an effective online teaching and learning strategy. Photovoice blends visual elements and written reflections to respond to meaningful questions in order to identify actionable solutions. Implementing Photovoice effectively can enhance student interactions by sparking thoughtful, authentic conversations that help students apply course content to their personal experiences.

Discussion threads can be tedious for students and instructors.  Lengthy responses, required participation minimums, and failure to connect with lived experience may result in discussion chore vs. discussion engagement.  Photovoice offers an alternative by challenging students to visually respond to discussion prompts and explore the course content through each other's "lens." This interactive session provides a framework for implementation along with practical constraints.

Discussion threads can be tedious for students and instructors.  Lengthy responses, required participation minimums, and failure to connect with lived experience may result in discussion chore vs. discussion engagement.  Photovoice offers an alternative by challenging students to visually respond to discussion prompts and explore the course content through each other's "lens." This interactive session provides a framework for implementation along with practical constraints.

This session shares the far-reaching impact a QM Consortium relationship can have on a large university campus. With more than 300 online courses offered in any given semester, finding a way to manage quality assurance is a daunting task. Faculty collective bargaining agreements can restrict what access an institution has to review faculty courses, so the university worked collaboratively with the faculty union to reach an agreement of minimally invasive online course review.

Quality Matters has recently created and piloted a new rubric for continuing education and professional development courses. As part of the pilot program, the Center for eLearning submitted an online professional development course for recognition. This course is called the eLearning Designer/Facilitator Certification (EDFC) course, and the faculty who take it are assisted by instructional designers in creating new online courses.

Are you looking for a way to create, promote, and sustain learning communities within your organization for FREE? Join us to learn one way you can “unconference” the professional learning experiences you provide within your organization to be beneficial and purposeful for all stakeholders. During our time together, we will explore what makes a good learning community and explore a tool/concept (Pineapple Chart) that can be used to promote an exemplary learning community while also having time to create your organization's plan for implementation.