Description

The creation of a formal Centre for Teaching & Learning (CTL) requires strategy, creativity, and determination. In 2014, the Ontario college sector looked different as many colleges had pockets of faculty development with very little focus on creating centres of excellence. I found myself in an institution that had established only 4 roles as part of “faculty development” but had little guidance on how to build a strategy around these resources and to operationalize them in a way that would enhance academic excellence.

Although I was starting my journey as an academic manager, I possessed the foresight to lead the college in a new era of academic excellence by creating a vision for teaching and learning. This vision began with relationship building as I had to ensure the institution trusted my vision. This trust was built by cultivating strong relationships with faculty, staff, and multiple departments. It also required strategic use of data and the creation of service standards to inform decision making processes relating to the expansion of services.

My 10 year tenure leading a CTL enabled me to build, protect, and evolve the institutions investment in teaching and learning. As an example of this growth, I was able to create more than 24 new roles across various disciplines to suit the needs of faculty/staff. These included:

Operational Excellence

·       Academic Operations Coordinator

·       Project Specialist

Curriculum & Program Development

·       Manager of Curriculum Development

·       Curriculum Mapper

·       Curriculum Specialist

·       Program Developer

Digital Learning & Multimedia

·       Manager of Multimedia Design

·       Digital Learning Specialist

·       Digital Technology System Administrator

·       eLearning Developer

·       Interaction Developer

·       Multimedia Specialist / Multimedia Developer

Online Program Delivery

·       Manager of Distance Education

·       Program Officer (Online)

·       Course Developer

·       Online Facilitators

·       DistanceEd Clerk

Faculty Development

·       Educational Developer: Ai & Immersive Technologies

·       Educational Developer: Indigenous Pedagogies

·       Educational Developer: Intercultural Teaching

·       Educational Developer: Learning Design

·       Educational Developer: Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

·       Faculty Coach – Faculty of Arts

·       Faculty Coach – Faculty of Science

What worked?

As a new employee, I leverage my leadership philosophy and commitment to values to ensure all decisions were made in collaboration with others. This rquired me to work alongside union leadership, college executives, faculty, and staff. The success that I received in building the CTL and these roles would not have been achievable had I not invested in people.

Trust became my currency and my tool to enable a culture of innovative strategy.

What didn’t work?

Some services and roles were not always initially approved which led me to question my approach. In one instance, I was unable to convey the significance of intercultural learning amongst a group of senior executives. This was an interesting challenge but I realized that my failure was in part due to their unfamiliarity with this space. I would later correct this action by requesting members to participate in a training session with me so that we could break down barriers and reflect on the importance of unconscious basis. The training was well received and trust in my vision was reestablished quickly as we underwent a transformational change as a group.

This experience was a good reminder that experiential learning should not be restricted to classrooms as we need to make more efforts to showcase the complexities of teaching/learning outside of these spaces for others to experience. It also taught me how to create a sense of urgency to build a collective vision.

How would I continue to use this practice?

Relationships remain a key component of my leadership practice as it becomes the pivotal goal. I continue to use trust and transparency as a currency in all my relationships as the investment provides ample opportunity for strategic growth.

Reference

Although I cannot share the full job descriptions for each role in this public forum, I offer these open resources that were published and shared at various points on public websites as examples of this work.

Description

As a contrast to my previous example, I also worked as a support staff within the college sector which gave me incredible insights on how to lead from the bottom.

While I don’t prescribe to the philosophical language of “leading from the bottom” as it conflicts with my own leadership language, I use it in this space to convey my experience working as a support staff with very limited seniority and authority within an Ontario college. As the Technologist for an Academic Upgrading program, I had no formal authority on the direction or nature of the program as I was positioned to support others in managing various elements of the curriculum.

Following the departure of a senior faculty member, I saw the department struggle as there was little knowledge of the quality assurance framework that governed the funding for the program. I took it upon myself to research ministry documents, conducted data analysis within various systems, and aligned my observations with the current curriculum. These efforts enabled me to create an operational framework that supported the achievement of multiple metrics and permitted the department to modify its curriculum in service of students and ministry requirements.

What worked?

Leveraging my past experience as a social researcher was paramount to demonstrating the quality of my work. Although I prescribe to leadership styles that prioritize values, I leaned into data-driven leadership more heavily in this case as I required more than simple intuition. The implementation of data in the decision-making process solidified my credibility as a transformational leader as it removed barriers such as job titles.

What didn’t work?

This strategy was successful in a scenario that required a new strategic direction within a new role. It also enabled short term changes that would later evolve in larger evolution in program delivery. The latter would have been unsuccessful at launch had we not focused on short term wins and incremental change. In the end, moving too quickly doesn’t always work so I had to ensure that the momentum was appropriate for this approach.

How would I continue to use this practice?

I continue to use data in my decision making and elevate the voices of all others in strategic discussions. The latter is important as I would not have been successfully myself had someone else not provided me with a platform or a voice to share my ideas. My leadership practice therefore continues to serve others in the ways that it has served me in the past.