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Peer Instructional Design Mentor Teacher Pilot Program: Call for Mentor Teachers

Andrew Bruso

The Offices of the Provost, Graduate & Extended Learning, and Instructional Technology, together with the Faculty Senate Committee on Educational Technology, invite nominations and applications for a pilot Peer Instructional Design Mentor Teacher Program at SUNY New Paltz.

Faculty are asked to please apply or nominate via email to Shala Mills (millss@newpaltz.edu) by Friday, July 31.

Nominations and applications for this stipended program can be sent in an email addressing the individual’s eligibility and merit based upon the stated selection criteria and offering examples of how the individual can serve the expected tasks, particularly in the context of the COVID 19 pandemic and known or anticipated needs.

See below for more details and information about this program.

Goal

The goal of the Peer Instructional Design Mentor Teacher Program is to support the advancement of faculty expertise in the design, development and delivery of online, hybrid and blended courses, a goal made all the more important in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recognition and Reward

Mentor Teachers will receive a $1,500 stipend for the fall semester and $250 in faculty development funding to be used to enhance the Mentor Teacher’s own instructional design knowledge, skills and delivery (examples: webinar registration, certification, software, or hardware related to teaching).

Eligibility

Mentor Teachers must be full-time faculty who have designed and delivered at least one online or hybrid course at SUNY New Paltz that meets the online best practices detailed in the Open SUNY Course Quality Review (OSCQR) rubric and the accessibility standards detailed by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

Selection

Six Mentor Teachers will be selected for the fall semester. Selection will be based on:

  • Mastery of OSCQR online and hybrid best practices
  • A clear understanding of and adherence to accessibility standards set forth in WCAG
  • Commitment to high quality online learning
  • Interest in, willingness to and ability to share online/hybrid knowledge and skills with others
  • Diverse distribution of fellows across a breadth of disciplines, course types and campus needs.

Expectations

Mentor Teachers will:

  • Participate in a Mentor Teacher Training program prior to the start of the fall semester. This training program should take no more than 10 hours and will focus on ensuring continuity, consistency and familiarity with best practices and resources.
  • Meet monthly as a group with the instructional design team to share information, needs, challenges and guide the progress of the pilot.
  • Participate in an end of semester Closing the Loop session to help assess the pilot and guide the ongoing program.
  • Have access to shared Mentor Resources (best practices, tools and resources for mentoring).
  • Share one of their online/hybrid courses as a best practice model for faculty to review.
  • Answer questions from peers within their understanding of the Instructional Design best practices resource materials.

Mentor Teacher tasks may vary by skill and need as determined by the Mentor Teachers and Instructional Designers with input from the provost, deans and associate vice presidents, but may include:

  • Offering Office of Instructional Technology (OIT) web training presentations on relevant topics
  • Helping with OIT drop-in sessions
  • Working one-on-one with faculty or Teaching Assistants who need assistance with online/hybrid course design/delivery.

Mentors will serve for the fall semester, with a possibility of renewal for spring.