​For my digital project in PIDP 3260, I chose to learn about peer observation and how this strategy is used by institutions to evaluate teachers and teaching practices. I created a slideshow in Screencast-O-Matic that highlights a short definition of peer observation and discusses the advantages, disadvantages, and best practices of this strategy. I have included a link to the video I created following this blog post.
 
From doing my research, I learned how peer observation is used by institutions to: evaluate their teachers; for promotional recommendations; and for professional development. I found it encouraging that most of the research stressed the value of using peer observation to support teachers with professional development, as I believe this strategy is more useful to both teachers and institutions when it focuses on helping teachers enhance their teaching practices, rather than evaluating them as teachers.
 
While working on my assignment, I also reviewed the digital projects completed by several of my colleagues. I learned about the advantages, disadvantages, and best practices for several evaluation strategies including: The Muddiest Point; videotaping yourself teaching; the Critical Incident Questionnaire; and Small Group Instructional Feedback. I like how all these strategies are formative, so they support teachers to alter or enhance their teaching practices during a course. I also appreciated that these strategies have great advantages and best practices for helping us evaluate our teaching practices.
 
I hope you enjoy my slideshow on peer observation. Thanks in advance for any thoughts or comments you have about my presentation.

Completing the PIDP has been one of my goals since I applied for the program in 2014. Unfortunately, I had to take time off in late 2015, because of a concussion. Once I recovered, I continued to pursue this goal. I will now get my diploma in 2020. A diploma will legitimize my position at Community Living BC as an Organizational Development Specialist. My manager has told me a diploma will be mandatory for my role in the future.
 
Completing the PIDP will also open new doors for me, should I choose to step through them. Below I have highlighted my career plan for the next 5 years.

• Work at CLBC while I get my diploma, and work there as long as I feel sufficiently challenged and supported in my position;
• Consider other options – specifically I would enjoy teaching social work or social services courses in a college in Kelowna, or for an online college that offers these types of courses; and
• Explore training and development opportunities in other organizations, to broaden my experience and give me the hours and flexibility I am looking for at this point in my career.

 
I will continue to take courses or training that challenges me and adds to my current knowledge and experience. One of the courses I will take is a facilitation course through work. I am also interested in change management and organization development courses. I will attend webinars through the Canadian Management Centre when it works into my schedule, and when courses are applicable.
 
Currently I am a registered social worker. To keep my registration, I need to do 40 hours of professional development each year, including 3 hours about ethics. I plan to keep my registration for several years. Once I complete the PIDP, I will explore other professional memberships that can support my professional development plans.

Reading about creative lecturing in The Student Teacher by Brookfield (2015) has shifted my thinking about lectures; about what they are and about how they can be used to support student learning. Brookfield (2015) give several suggestions for lecturing creatively. For me, embracing the idea that teachers can include all types of active learning components in their lectures gives me a more positive view of this teaching modality.
 
One of the suggestions from Brookfield is to use periods of silence between chunks of lecturing by including a one-minute paper to highlight an important point, or by asking a question and then giving students a minute to think about their answer. Using either of these ideas would help to identify students' learning, and give opportunity for more discussion about things that stood out for students. Another idea Brookfield talks about is using spatial aspects of a room to make a lecture more interesting. I can see how moving around the room or putting different ideas up on flip charts and presenting from different places in the room would increase student engagement. Finally, I love his suggestion that the teacher models critical thinking, attitudes, or behaviour in the lecture by grappling with his or her own assumptions and thoughts while lecturing on a topic.
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In my work I give short presentations to new staff during in-person training and blended learning courses. I have never thought of these short presentations as lectures. However, looking at lecturing creatively as described by Brookfield (2015), I realize that much of our training involves short lectures interspersed with questions and hands on activities. I find this interesting, as it challenges my thinking about what a lecture in college might look like, and how it could be a very effective modality to support student learning.  

In addition to the information in The Student Teacher, I found a video that models an engaging lecture and includes some general ideas for making a lecture more interesting. In this video, Hip Hughes talks about the following ideas for supporting student engagement in a lecture: concept over content, mixing modality engagement, and building bridges. Although he seems to be talking about lecturing to younger kids, I think his ideas for enhancing a lecture would apply to kids and adults of all ages. Following the references I have included a link to Hip Hughes video, The Art of the Lecture.
 
Brookfield, S. D. (2015). The Skillful Teacher: On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom
       (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
 
Hughes, H. (2015, September 30). What makes a good lecture? Tips on engaging your audience.
       Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xuv3yT9XRAA
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In the early 2000’s, I worked for an employment program that went through the rigors of accreditation to meet the requirements set by our funding body. Currently, I work for a funding body who works largely with accredited agencies because we know these agencies are held to a high standard of service. Knowing the value of contracting with accredited agencies made me curious around the reasons Canadian colleges seek accreditation.

What I learned from my research, is that colleges seek accreditation for many of the same reasons as our contractors. First, accreditation provides a status that ensures policy makers, funders, students, and the public that the college is adhering to its mission and mandate. Second, being accredited helps to ensure that the institution is integral and provides a quality education that meets a certain standard. Third, accreditation enhances a college’s reputation on both a national and international level, thus increasing the chances of attracting both Canadian and foreign students to the college.

In addition to status, accreditation also provides a process for continual improvement of the educational experience for students. Smaller colleges have expressed their appreciation for the accreditation process because it gives them a benchmark whereby they can know that they provide the type of quality education that people expect from larger institutions. This reminds me of our smaller contractors, who seek accreditation to raise their own bar and receive the same level of recognition as the larger agencies we work with. Of note, my research also showed that smaller colleges are seeking US accreditation because it raises their reputation even more on a global level.

Below, I have highlighted the main resources I explored during my research for this blog post. I have included them here for anyone who has an interest in why Canadian colleges seek accreditation. 

https://www.universityaffairs.ca/news/news-article/more-canadian-universities-seek-us-accreditation/

https://www.ocqas.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Ontario-Colleges-Moving-to-Accreditation-Information-Paper.pdf

Although Canada does not have an established national or regional system that provides accreditation, post-secondary institutions can voluntarily seek accreditation from a professional accrediting body. This was the case with Trinity Western University, who sought accreditation from the Law Society of Upper Canada.

​Trinity Western University (TWU) was denied accreditation because of the college’s policy that prohibits faculty and students from having same-sex sexual activity. TWU felt the decision to deny accreditation went against the college’s right to religious freedom and appealed the law society’s decision with the Supreme Court of Canada. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in favor of the decision not to accredit Trinity Western's law school. One of the key reasons the Supreme Court held up this decision was because of the law society’s enabling statute that obligates its members to protect public interest when deciding whether to accredit a law school.

This example shows both the responsibility and power that an accrediting body has and needs to consider when determining whether to accredit a post-secondary institution.

For this post, I have gathered information from the following websites:

https://www.bccat.ca/system/accreditation

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/06/18/canadian-supreme-court-upholds-denial-accreditation-proposed-christian-law-school

While doing some training this past week I was reminded of what Brookfield (2015) says in chapter 18 about the power differential between a teacher and his or her students. On day two of a two-day course called Our Common Purpose, we discuss the power imbalance between our front-line staff and the people who request services from CLBC. One of the activities we do in this class, is to ask learners to divide into pairs and identify what they can do to reduce that power imbalance, so individuals and families feel more comfortable with the planning support they receive from our staff.

Thinking about this activity further and reflecting on Brookfield's discussion about teacher power makes me wonder if I should try to reduce the power differential in the classroom, or if I should focus more on using my power responsibly. I will need to reflect on this further, as I have not given much thought to the power I have in my role. However, after reading Brookfield’s discussion about teacher power, my first thoughts are that it is first of all important to acknowledge my power as a teacher, and then rather than trying to reduce it, use this “power in justifiable and helpful ways” (Brookfield, 2015, p. 240) for the learners.

Brookfield, S. D. (2015). The Skillful Teacher: On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom
       (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

As instructors, resistance to learning can be hard for us to understand. In part, this is because we tend to teach things that line up with our own beliefs and interests. Therefore, it is hard for us to imagine why our learners would resist something we are so passionate about (Brookfield, 2015). However, it is highly unlikely that students will always be interested in what we are teaching them. People take courses for many reasons, some are there because they really want to learn about the subject, and others are there because the course is a mandatory part of a college program and not even something they are particularly interested in learning. 

As Brookfield points out, teachers “should never be too proud to say why in (their) view it’s important for students to learn something” (Brookfield, 2015, p. 234). I agree, and believe it is important that instructors discuss the value of the learning right at the beginning of the course or workshop. In particular, I believe it is important to stress the value of the learning to the students' future opportunities. Where I work, we often refer to the WIIFM (what's in it for me) principle. We have found that if staff understand what is in the learning for them, it helps to reduce the resistance they may feel around the learning.

Brookfield, S. D. (2015). The Skillful Teacher: On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom
       (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

This post considers why some people have a resistance to learning. I believe a key reason, as highlighted by Brookfield (2015), is that learning is about change and change is often difficult and even scary for people. I often see this in my work as a Provincial Trainer. While some staff happily embrace the changes new learning involves, even when it means a big paradigm shift in their thinking, others are steadfast in their belief that nothing needs to change so why do they have to learn something new. I think it is important for teachers or trainers to recognize that learning can change people in small or sometimes big ways, and that some learners fear how these changes will impact them going forward.
 
An additional thought about the relationship between learning and change is highlighted by James Atherton, in his article about in-service professional training programs. Atherton (1999) suggests that while learning new things is meant to be additive to what people already know, many learners do not experience learning this way. Instead they feel threatened by how learning will change or supplant their current knowledge and skill set. I think this is particularly true when an organization like the one I work for provides training to its staff to help them change the way they do pieces of their work. I have included a direct link to Atherton's article at the end of this post. I feel this article does a great job of demystifying some of the reasons that people resist learning. 

Atherton, J. (1999) Resistance to learning: a discussion based on participants in in-service professional training
       programmes, Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 51:1, 77-90,
       DOI: 10.1080/13636829900200070

Brookfield, S. D. (2015). The Skillful Teacher: On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom
       (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

https://doi.org/10.1080/13636829900200070

Below, I have included a link to a video that discusses the value to all students when people from different cultural and economic backgrounds attend college together. However, diversity in a college program is not enough to ensure that people will learn from fellow students who come from different backgrounds. Learners also need to have an opportunity to work with or hear from students who come from different cultural and economic backgrounds to experience the depth of learning that is supported by these types of diversity.

Brookfield (2015) believes that using modalities that mix students based on cultural diversity helps them to see how their diversity impacts their thinking and behaviour. He also points out that mixing students from different racial backgrounds can help White students understand the meaning of White supremacy, or as it is often referred to, White privilege. I took note of the power of mixing people from different backgrounds in a recent training session. In that particular training we include an activity that supports learners to consider how their cultural background impacts who they are and what they believe. A White female learner who was born in BC said she did not really think she had a culture. After being paired with a woman from Japan, the White woman said her eyes were opened about how differently she looks at things because of her Whiteness and Canadian heritage. In turn, the woman from Japan said she learned several things about how her culture has impacted her values and beliefs. Both learners realized the value of their own culture, and also took note of how much their cultural background affects the way they think and behave.

Brookfield, S. D. (2015). The Skillful Teacher: On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom
       (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.​

The organization I work for supports individuals with diverse capabilities and disabilities, from a variety of cultural backgrounds. In our training, especially our Orientation Training, we support staff to think about and examine their own cultural biases and how these might impact the work they do with individuals and families. For example, in the classroom portion of our first Orientation Training for new staff, we spend three hours exploring the diversity and culture of group members, to give our staff an opportunity to reflect on how their cultural biases and beliefs impact the way they interact with colleagues and stakeholders. I found several ideas in chapters 8 and 9 in the book The Student Teacher by Brookfield (2015) that helped think more deeply around diversity and culture discussions in the classroom. Below, I have highlighted one of my favourite learnings.

In Chapter 9, I was particularly interested in Brookfield’s discussion around acknowledging that racism is alive and well in me/us. Brookfield states that “what was missing from (his) teaching was a full disclosure of how the ideology of White supremacy was alive and well within (him)” (Brookfield, 2015, p. 113). Recently, I did several consecutive training sessions around the province about our enhanced planning process. During this time, I came to realize that as a middle-class white trainer, I needed to acknowledge my ignorance about the cultural diversity in the room to have any credibility with our very culturally diverse staff groups. Moving forward, I will take Brookfield’s advise around using narratives of my own struggles with diversity to open up conversations and introduce activities in our training. I have done this occasionally in the past, but after reading Brookfield’s thoughts about internalized racism and narratives, I believe it is important for me to be more intentional about sharing my own struggles in this area. I believe it is only by sharing our mutual awkwardness about cultural diversity that we can truly move forward in becoming a truly inclusive work place that can successfully support a diverse group of individuals and families.
 
Brookfield, S. D. (2015). The Skillful Teacher: On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom
       (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.