Professional Development Programme

Welcome to the Higher Education Development Centre Professional Development Programme. HEDC provides a range of professional development opportunities for academic staff to learn about research and teaching and other key aspects of academic practice.

 

DISTAID works by supporting your investigation of

 

Distance Education through your
Investigation of (your understanding of)

Services and support,

Tools and technologies,

Assessment and evaluation,

Interactions, and

Design

 

 

The DISTAID programme is made up of a preliminary module, five compulsory modules and a series of optional modules.  These are advertised on the workshop registration page. 

To be eligible to receive a Certificate of Completion you will:

• Enrol in the programme
• Complete the preliminary module
• Complete 5 compulsory modules
• Complete 3 optional modules
• Undertake a small investigation into a topic from your own distance teaching
• Write a report and make a presentation on your investigation (as part of the HEDC seminar series.)

NB: Not all staff will wish to undertake the entire programme.  A staff member can enrol in any module without the need to complete the entire series.

Semester One, 2010 will cover the following modules:
Preliminary Module - Making a change in distance teaching
Interactions - Engaging your students - interacting at a distance
Learning goals and content - Getting the course design right

There will also be workshops for staff new to distance teaching.  These will take place in March and will be offered in Dunedin, Wellington and Christchurch.

Semester Two will cover:
Assessment - Assessing student work: Supporting learning and teaching at a distance
Tools and technologies - Choosing and using tools and technologies
Learning via Video/Web Conferencing
Services and support - Get them and keep them: Supporting distance students (and you)


A recent addition to our programme for academic staff is the Learning with Technology series.   This is a series of one-hour seminars held at lunch-time - so feel free to bring your lunch.  Each seminar focuses on a specific use of digital technology by fellow colleagues and explores, in a friendly setting, how well it supports learning.  Any desire to sustain the dialogue emerging from these seminars will be pursued in the hope of forming special-interest communities at Otago around technologies.

The first session will take place on February 22.  The dates for subsequent workshops in the series are: March 29, April 26, May 31, July 26, August 30, September 27, October 18, November 15.

If you would like to suggest a particular use of technology for a future session, please contact Jenny McDonald.


Another addition is the Research Supervisors' Programme, which is a year-long programme for postgraduate research supervisors (especially those new to supervision.)  The package, offered by HEDC and Graduate Research Services, is designed to enhance supervision by:

• providing a safe and supportive learning environment for postgraduate supervisors
• providing mentorship for new supervisors
• introducing supervisors to research on postgraduate supervision
• enhancing the supervision experience for staff and postgraduate students.

Meetings are monthly and begin on Thursday March 11 from 12-2pm in the HEDC Seminar Room.

In the programme, we will explore some of the following research and practices:

1. Characteristics of good supervision and ideal supervisors with input from the research and experienced supervisors.
2. Different models of supervision including group supervision.
3. Making supervision work for students, for the supervisors involved, and the department.
4. Selecting appropriate students in terms of their own expertise, that of the potential supervisors, and the interests of the department.
5. Creating a stimulating supervisory postgraduate research culture.
6. Identification and possible development of the skills that recognise and assist different aspects of their students’ progression through the research.
7. Managing the supervisory process at different stages in the candidature.
8. Evaluating supervision.
9. Institutional and departmental resources that are available for both staff and students.

The programme is research-informed but needs-based, framed around monthly meetings that include networking, participant discussion, expert input, and key concepts. Mentorship will be arranged with experienced supervisors as required. The introductory meeting on March 11 includes a welcome from Professor Harlene Hayne (DVC, Research & Enterprise), some key ideas about good supervision, discussion and lunch.   Meetings are scheduled on the second Thursday of each month between 12 noon and 2pm. 

Other programme activities will be designed around this first activity. 

Should you require further information you can either contact Dr Carol Bond (Coordinator) or Candi Young (Administrator.)

To enrol in the first and/or subsequent sessions of the programme go to the PDP registration page.


All our workshops are advertised in the Bulletin and also on the PDP registration page.