2 University of Toronto – Cohort-based Faculty Development

Flexible Learning

At the University of Toronto, flexible learning is understood as a recognition of the value of models that provide of learners with choices as to where, when, and how their learning occurs. Course offering options ranging from partially to fully online, with the balance of in-person and digital elements planned by the instructor. Notably, the hyflex model, in which the learner has modality choice at any time for any given class, is not specified as a delivery mode option available within our current governance and course cataloguing.

Initiative: Flexible Learning Initiative

This program, funded by the Vice-Provost Innovations in Undergraduate Education provided support to instructors in the development of fully online or hybrid (partially online) undergraduate courses. The program’s aim was to increase the range of online learning opportunities at the University of Toronto while building capacity for innovative approaches to teaching and learning.  A key outcome of the course design process has been the availability of more flexible options that leverage online technologies to accommodate scheduling or geographic constraints while providing a rich learning experience.

Teams of three instructors from the same department or program worked collaboratively to explore needs within their discipline area while re-designing their courses. A facilitated faculty development program engaged all teams as a cohort. Between full group meetings, consultation with divisional teams and individual instructors provided support to resolve specific needs and challenges participants may encounter.

The program met once per term for a facilitated two-hour workshop, with smaller discipline team meetings scheduled between. Pre-work in the form of structured design steps and reflection guide the process. The planning occurs over one academic year, with the courses to be offered in re-designed state the following year. Instructors were awarded modest funding to be used for professional development, media design or TA support. Results are shared and celebrated in community events.

Critical success factors:

• Letters of support from the applicant’s chair and dean are required to ensure support from academic leaders.
• Commitment of time from instructors must be clear to manage expectations for design work.
• Element of reciprocity, with feedback from participants informing ongoing capacity development.
• Long timelines allow for governance approvals for course modifications to be processed.

Challenges:

• Ongoing funding required from Vice-Provost as incentive.
• Individual instructors who do not have interested colleagues in dept are excluded.
• Academic leaders within divisions may not support applications, due to conceptions of quality of experience of learners.

Evaluation or assessment of impact:

• Short impact reports submitted by participants inform ongoing work of the Vice-Provost
• Course modality tracking and data dashboards in development to allow observations of patterns of student registration as we stabilize in a post COVID-crisis environment.

Next steps:

• As the funding period has drawn to a close we are aiming to offer the program to individual instructors in a hybrid workshop model.
• Instructional designers from participating divisions have been engaged to to co-facilitate to build capacity through distributed support.