Instructional Skills Workshop

The Online Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) has been developed to provide instructors teaching online at the University of Waterloo the opportunity to experiment with creating engaging and meaningful online learning experiences. This workshop affords instructors new to online teaching an introduction to designing and facilitating effective online lessons/activities, while experienced online instructors may use it as a chance to explore new ideas and/or refine their online teaching practices. Although focused on the online environment, the ideas developed in this workshop are also applicable to the blended context and will serve to inform in-class teaching. 

The design of this online workshop is based on the in-person Instructional Skills Workshop template (http://iswnetwork.ca/) in that the activities provide an authentic environment for faculty to learn about and practice skills related to facilitating and assessing learning. The workshop includes opportunities for peer feedback focused on the learning process rather than on specific content as well as reflection on one’s own experiences as both an instructor and student in the online environment.

The Online ISW is a small enrolment, peer-based workshop that requires on-average a 5 hour/week commitment for a six-week period. Each participant will design and facilitate four 20-minute online learning experiences in LEARN and will receive verbal and written feedback from their peers. Participants can expect to interact with and learn from other participants both asynchronously and synchronously during the workshop and need to set-aside daily time to contribute to the workshop activities. 

It is expected that all participants will have a working knowledge of LEARN prior to enrolling in the Online ISW. The focus of the Online ISW is on instructional skills in online teaching not on the support of technological fluency. While participants are encouraged to use the workshop to get feedback on their use of technology, the workshop itself does not incorporate the time required for the implementation of unfamiliar technologies. 

Description: The Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) is an intensive, collaborative, and experiential learning model that uses videotaped micro-teaching and peer feedback sessions to support the teaching reflection and growth of both new and experienced instructors. The ISW promotes participatory learning and community building and encourages examination of teaching practices with feedback focused on the learning process rather than on the specific content of the lesson. Each participant will receive a widely-recognized certificate of achievement upon successful completion of the ISW, which requires 24 contact hours, over three or four days.

After completing the Instructional Skills Workshop, participants might also be interested in undertaking the Facilitator Development Workshop (FDW). The FDW prepares participants to deliver the ISW to others -- for example, to departmental colleagues. The Facilitator Development Workshop is an intensive 40-hour workshop held over 5 days. The first four days are about eight hours, the last day usually about six hours. The FDW involves four or five faculty participating in three roles: instructor, learner, facilitator. Led by one or two Trainers from the Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) Network, the core of the FDW is another Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) with the further skill of facilitation as the primary focus.

Offered: Usually once per term, in-person