[CIIT College of Arts and Technology] From Industry to Classroom: Innovative Approaches to Faculty Development

Hello. Hello, everybody. Good afternoon to everyone. I this is a pleasure to be here in front of a lot of our fellow educators and fellow administrators as well. I've learned a lot over the past sessions on creating quizzes for chat from chat GPT, the game based assisted learning, and also looking at the new analytics in the Canvas dashboard. And of course, how do we help our faculty learn how to do all of these things? And this is where my talk comes in.

Okay? So my talk is on innovative approaches to faculty development. So all the things that we've been discussing earlier, kailangan natin sakit transfer effectively to our faculty members. And before I dive in to the meat of my presentation, I would like to first introduce, of course myself. I'm Michael Pahaneel from CAIT College of Arts and Technology. I'm the educational technology coach, and this is who we are.

So CAIT College of Arts and Technology is a college found in Kamuning, Quezon City. So this is our campus here for everyone. This is the colorful campus along Kamuning Road. You will be seeing, you will not miss it. And then, this is the interior of our school.

We offer multimedia arts programs specializing in animation, graphic design, film and video production, computer science, information systems, and entrepreneurship bachelor degree programs. We also have a senior high school program as well. So CIIT's goal is to produce industry ready graduates. But our definition of industry ready graduates means that they are hard skilled and soft skilled. They are civic oriented and socially responsible, and they are also character and values formed.

But how do we do all of these things? So CIIT actually invests a lot in technology, devices, hardware, software to reach all of these goals. CAIT also invests a lot into, improving the curriculum. But there is a problem. Majority of our faculty members are part time instructors, and who are also industry practitioners. Hiring all of these amazing people from the industry.

Animators, directors, producers, developers, computer engineers, software engineers, brilliant people, but a lot of times, there is a gap to be filled in terms of teaching and instructional design. So now, our problem over the past year, since I've, taken on the role of EdoTech coach is how can CIIT help equip its faculty members to be pedagogically and technologically capable of transferring their knowledge and expertise. So that's the framework. And when I took on the role of EduTech coach last year, I was asked this big question, What will I do first? If ever I do get the role? They asked me, Will I be buying new hardware? Would I be investing in new solutions? Would I be going into artificial intelligence, data analytics, and all that. But for me, I had to go back to my roots.

And my roots is that before I'm an EdoTech coach, I'm a teacher. At the very core of it, I said, Let's invest in people. We have to invest in people. And a lot of people would say na, But sir Michael, in your school you're already technologically capable. You have the hardware and all of this.

We have to prioritize buying hardware, software, and solutions to equip our faculty. But I tell you this, in CAITS, technology is important but it's the people who make it work. Invest in the people and they will drive your organization forward. But, even if you are still at that point in your college or university or school where you feel like or you see that it's not enough just yet, still invest in people. Because they innovate, they adapt, and they find creative solutions even without the latest tools.

And this is where the inspiration of my presentation is coming from. So how do we do it in CIIS? Is coming from. So how do we do it in CIIT? What are the things that we do to improve, all of the faculty, skills, instructional design, pedagogy, and even the culture of the faculty members? Just three things. The culture of the faculty members. Just three things.

Systems, processes, culture. Just three basic things that have been the underpinnings of how we approach faculty development and edtech training in CAIT. So let's go about them one by one. Let's talk about systems. When we say systems, these are basically just the tools that we're using in CAIT.

So at the very start of when I entered first the first time I encountered it, I've been using Canvas and all that. But alongside Canvas, we also have the Google Workspace. So we're using all of these Google apps alongside Canvas, but we're also using Slack for our faculty, faculty and employee instant messaging and collaboration. And we're also using this software, this cloud based software called Airtable. Airtable is a data management or a data management cloud based software where, CIIT bases a lot of its automations on.

So if you go to CIIT today, you will be seeing that a lot of our processes are already in the cloud. Things are automated from admissions to internal processes. Even Edutech, faculty training, we are using Airtable. So those are the systems alongside this one. We have what we call our faculty dashboard.

So the faculty dashboard is basically an internal domain that we created using Google Sites. So it's just free. K? We're just capitalizing on what the subscription that we have with Google to create this faculty dashboard or maybe in other universities, you may call it the faculty portal. The faculty dashboard contains access to important links, apps, and announcements for our faculty. And the QR code and link is actually littered all around the campus so our faculty members don't forget all of this.

Take note, the context. These are part time faculty members that they just come to school to teach and then they just go. So you would imagine the kind of, you know, context that we have where we really want to unify and make sure that our edutech, our teaching instructional design is your standard and of quality. Okay. Next.

Let's go to processes. So we're done with systems. Let's now go to processes. What do we do? What are the step by step things that we do to onboard, monitor our faculty, and help them develop? So there are two aspects here, for our new faculty members and for our existing faculty members. So for the new faculty members, if you are a new faculty in CIIT, of course, just like any other institution, you will have your orientation.

Online and on-site orientation. But take the but hear this. We have online, right? But how many times they go online po tayo? When they come in, sir, they always come back and ask for more. Right? So my on-site paren, my one on one paren tayo. So the relationship still has to exist among our faculty or the new faculty.

And then we have welcome kits. Later, I'll be showing the welcome kits. So So the welcome kits contain all of these. We also have an onboarding canvas course. So this wouldn't be canvas con without the discussion of canvas and how we're utilizing it.

So we have created a self paced asynchronous canvas course to accommodate our part time faculty schedules and for their convenience. Now, how about for the current faculty members? We have Edutech trainings that are on our that are done regularly. So these are hybrid sessions. So faculty members who can only join join online, they can join via Google Meet or those who are on-site, they can join. And they are required to also do some activities in the faculty canvas.

But if they're not able to join, synchronously, they can also synchronously, they can also, watch the recordings. So recently, we did, an orientation or a training on rubrics and assessment making in CIIT. So yeah, we have EdoTech one zero one and we have automated compliance feedback via Airtable. So let's go about them one by one. Mga ito? Okay.

So first, welcome kits. The welcome kit is a document. So you can format this any way you want but for CIIT, what we do is that, my letter, dear faculty, welcome to CIIT. Step by step things for your first day. We expect the welcome kit.

It contains all of these links that will be helpful to the faculty. We also have the welcome kits containing all these files that are uploaded in the G drive that contains step by step tutorials on how to use how to use our student management system, how to use Canvas, how to navigate the different applications we have in CAIT. So they can do that on their own. Next, we utilize Canvas. We create what we call, the faculty Canvas course.

So this one, we create a sub account under our root account because we have to tag our teachers as students. So with the students, no? And then what we do here is that we have self paced modules. I'm sure a lot of universities are already doing something similar but I'm here to validate na effective na mansha. Okay? And at the end of it, hindi lang siya modules but there's an assessment. So in CIIT, meron tayo, end of the self paced course assessment where the faculty has to reach a certain score to deduction lang.

Right? But they're given enough time and multiple attempts to complete this. Next, end of term clearance. We use the faculty canvas to facilitate end of term clearance. What do we do here? Instead of the faculty having to go to different offices and they have to light up and then look for people, they can facilitate all the clearance requirements online, submit to Canvas, and all these other people who are, relevant to the process can double check if their clearance requirements have been, successfully fulfilled. So all of these are in Canvas.

Facilitated using, Google Calendar appointments where I create appointment slots and faculty members can meet with me and we can have one on one tutorials, discussions, how to do this, and all the other things, other discussions related to Canvas. But not just Canvas, classroom management, assessment making, instructional design. And here's the fun part or maybe fun for me, every single, every time during the term, we do Canvas audits. What I do as edtech coach is that I I take a more qualitative approach to doing, Canvas audits. All one hundred and eighty, seventy faculty, all courses, open them one by one.

Check modules, check syllabus, check the content, everything. Give qualitative feedback. And we use Airtable. This is where the automated feedback comes in. Airtable works as like an excel sheet but more, you know, it has more features where you can tag, let's say for example, that the course name, what department they're under, of course the name of the faculty which is, you know, blurred out here, and then I have my comments, observations, hulang sa modules, incomplete itong mga requirements, or, missing syllabus.

Comments, and then corresponding deductions, or cleared, if ever cleared sila. What happens? In Airtable, here's the fun part, you click on a trigger, automatically it sends emails to all the instructors and what happens, all instructors are given the feedback and they are aware and given enough time to comply and revise their canvas. K? During this period. So this is what we do in CIIT and of course, mga guide naman sa baba. If you need help, you can contact this.

Here's a sample. Michael Pahanil, for your contemporary world course, you have cleared for syllabus and homepage. Feedbacking easier for all faculty. Lastly, before I end, I want to tackle culture. Systems, process, culture.

Because there are layers, you know, to faculty development or maybe imposing or the Ito yung dapat yung goin. There is also the normative, you know, the normative where you're give you're giving them sanctions because of, not complying or complying, giving them incentives and rewards. But at the very core of it, in CAIT, our aim is to tackle culture. Because if you have a culture where your faculty members and the employees are actually, you know, they take it as is. Nadaapatipi yung ginago ako.

That it's part of who I am as a teacher in this institution na it's unquestioned, it is something that makes sense to them. Then, you know, you have created an effective system of our cultural system within your faculty. For example, we have to address the norms, attitudes, mindsets, and values that drive change. Because faculty members in CIIT who come from the industry, they have with them certain mindsets about teaching, about training that they bring with them. Training that they bring with them.

But of course, as educators, we have a different way of tackling students or dealing with instruction. So of course, kailangan natin maktackal to. Em Embrace the process of learning and unlearning, ito yung mahirap because a lot of times, we're dealing with really great professionals from outside the industry and then, for them they have a sense of, ito na nakasanayyan ko? Dito ko na ging successful? Why is it I have to learn more? We have to tackle that, that kind of culture. This one is important. Faculty who are also in leadership roles, president, associate dean, program heads, they have to also buy in into your vision.

They have to also model the desired behavior. So in CIIT, our president, our college dean, program heads, they all have teaching loads. But if they don't comply with the requirements, they don't have the standard quality in their canvas, deduction. Everyone, no exemptions. And that models the behavior that even all, even people in in positions of power in the institution are also under this kind of system.

Because we have to build legitimacy and authority through consistent actions. Okay? And, Gen Z, it's really hard at the first no? To establish your legitimacy inside an institution of so many people who are all, who are a lot of times better than you in many aspects, but at the same time, you have a role to play in developing, helping them develop. Okay? And understand, of course, understand and empathize with your faculty members. How do we meet them halfway? How do we meet them where they are? K? And help them. K? Tulungkad.

And of course, offer incentives. If you can throw money at it, go. Okay? In CIIT, we did that. Okay? The first time we wanted to implement Canvas, five ks. Ilhat nag gagami ng canvas, five ks, five ks, five ks.

Okay? One hundred percent adoption. So, and but right now we have performance bonuses. So as Edutech, my points from me, for example. And what happens is that if you'll get deductions from my component, it might, you know, lead you to not getting the performance bonuses at the end of the term. So there are incentives in place.

But of course, lastly, just to end everything. Nga pa importante, that empowerment, okay, empowering your faculty members to foster a collaborative community of practice. You will know if you are successful in your endeavor to train faculty members, if sir, ito nagawako sa canvas, can you check? Look at this, I explored this, I I navigated this. Sir, look at this o. I wanted to do this in my class and I was already looking at this.

Is this something we can do? They're already thinking on their own. They are already empowered to explore, navigate, and think of new ideas and solutions for Canvas. At the beginning, compliance lang pero at the end. Empowerment and a community of practice. So that is all. Thank you so much everyone for listening.