Faculty Spotlight:
Dr. Alton Harris, III

What purpose does graduate education serve?

Winter, Griffiths, and Green (2000) evaluated practice-based graduate studies and the context of the academic institutions. According to these researchers (2000), practice-based graduate students are a bridge between academic institutions and their respective communities of practice. Practice-based graduate students interpret learned knowledge and find novel ways bring theory into application.

Engineering for Professional (EP) programs aim to motivate working engineers with tools and experiences necessary to enhance their education in ways that will have a direct positive impact on their professional lives. Prospective students are drawn to EP programs, in part, by learning from experienced working professionals and academic faculty. The expectation is EP students will experience instructors capable of speaking directly to the applications of coursework and continually improving and updating content to encompass the very latest in both the theoretical understanding and applications of their respective areas of expertise.

How does the EP programs assist instructors in creating and sustaining an immersive multi-modal learning environment?

Since 2019, EP programs has supported the Faculty Forward Fellowship program to build a community of practice for instructors. The Faculty Forward Fellowship program is helping EP establish a robust learning organization culture among faculty. The program assists instructors to shape their respective learning environments informed by innovative pedagogical strategies, available technologies, and shared-instructor experiences.

In addition to the Faculty Forward Fellowship program, the Faculty Forward Academy offers webinars, interactive workshops, and short courses that bring together faculty and members from the Center for Learning Design and Center for Digital and Media Initiatives to enrich interconnection between parties directly and indirectly in creating an immersive learning environment for EP students.

I enrolled in the Faculty Forward Fellowship program in the 2020 cohort to enhance my awareness of tools and techniques while I was assisting in a course redesign. I am continually looking for ways to increase student engagement in the courses I teach. Some of the specific practices that I have implemented in online courses include using Microsoft tools such as Sway (a story telling presentation tool) and MS Teams (group collaboration space, and course informal discussion board).

Here’s an idea of what I am now doing in my courses:

• I have introduced students to the 3CQ (i.e., compliment, comment, connect, and question) format for enhancing responses to peer posts in the discussion forums.
• I have introduced Zoom meeting polls during office hours to spark passive student participation into class conversations.
• I have introduced nongraded self-check quizzes at the end of modules for students to check their understanding of key points.

The Faculty Forward program offers instructors a low-risk learning environment to test and try out varying new teaching techniques and tools before bringing them to your online teaching environment. I find the Faculty Forward program is a convenient way to connect with other interested instructors on ways to enhance student learning. I would recommend checking out Faculty Forward!

Reference
Winter, R., Griffiths, M., and Green, K. (2000). The ‘academic’ qualities of practice: What are the criteria for a practiced-based PhD? Studies in Higher Education, 25(1), 25-37.