Dave Smulders, Michal Fedeles, Jennifer Jasper, Amy Severson
Innovation in instruction does not happen accidentally. According to Dr Tony Bates (2018), innovation primarily depends upon “ideally a general institutional vision or strategy for teaching in the future to provide a framework for priorities in the allocation of resources and to encourage change generally in teaching”. JIBC offers tuition-based classes for those in the community who wish to improve their training and facilitation skills. Courses like INDC-1110 Essential Skills for Training and Facilitation make an explicit link between facilitation skills and leadership potential. For the past two years, CTLI has offered INDC-1110 to internal staff and faculty as a foundation for instructor development at JIBC. This summer, we also conducted a Facilitator Developer Workshop, a train-the-trainer for facilitators of INDC-1110. Our goal is to provide instructor training more readily available for staff and faculty to help support our common interests in providing the best educational and training opportunities possible for public safety professionals and learners. The recent Facilitator Development Workshop (FDW), held in the late spring, brought together facilitators from across the JI (CTLI, Conflict Resolution, Leadership, Emergency Management, Corrections and Court Services, Applied Research and Graduate Studies) to help build our foundation of facilitation training.
AUTHORING TOOL(S) USED
N/A
WHY WAS THIS PROJECT NEEDED?
Coming together to learn, experiment and reflect helps instructors drive ongoing innovation in teaching and learning, and nurture a vibrant culture of continuous development for education excellence.
HOW DOES THIS DEMONSTRATE INNOVATION?
The recent Facilitator Development Workshop (FDW) led by CTLI provided a unique opportunity for instructors from across JIBC to share, explore and imagine new teaching approaches to truly engage, challenge, and support learners. This unique learning format boosts the sense of community among instructors and a quest for continued collaboration in creating powerful learning experiences.
PROBLEMS OR CHALLENGES FACED?
Making the time to come together to learn and support one another over the five days of the FDW (while keeping other demands to a minimum) was a challenge — yet one worth working through.
LESSONS LEARNED
Coming together to experiment, see one another in action, share experiences and perspectives, and “stretch” our imagination and comfort zones is an invaluable part of being an instructor. The JI teaching community will find great value in a continued pursuit of education excellence together.