The Offices of the Provost, Graduate, Professional & Interdisciplinary Studies, and Instructional Technology, together with the Faculty Senate Committee on Educational Technology, invite nominations and applications for our 2022-23 Mentor Teacher Program.
The successful program debuted in 2020 and will continue next year with a focus on supporting our campus’s transition to the D2L Brightspace learning management system (LMS). Brightspace is replacing Blackboard at New Paltz and all other SUNY institutions.
More details about the program are posted below. Faculty who are interested are asked to please apply by completing this short online application by Friday, May 13. The form briefly addresses the individual’s eligibility and merit based upon the stated selection criteria and offers examples of how the individual can serve the expected tasks.
More information about the program is available below. If you have questions, please reach out to Shala Mills (millss@newpaltz.edu).
What is the purpose of the the Peer Instructional Design Mentor Teacher Program?
The goal of the program is to support the advancement of faculty expertise in the design, development and delivery of online, hybrid and blended courses, via a peer-to-peer model that leverages the expertise of faculty across the disciplines.
Recognition and Reward for Mentor Teachers
Mentors will receive a $1,500 stipend for both the fall and spring semesters (total of $3,000 for the year).
They may also request up to $250/semester (total of $500 for the year) in faculty development funding to enhance their instructional design knowledge, skills and delivery in ways that can be of value to their program and to the institution. Examples may include webinar registration, certification, software or hardware related to teaching.
Who is eligible to be a Mentor Teacher?
Mentors 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 OSCQR rubric and the accessibility standards detailed in the SUNY EIT Accessibility site.
Because this year’s focus will be on transitioning to the new D2L Brightspace platform, peer mentors must complete the Core DLE and Core Pedagogy training.
Faculty members may serve as a Mentor Teacher multiple times.
What is the selection criteria?
Seven Mentors will be selected for the academic year. 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 the SUNY EIT Accessibility site
Commitment to high quality online/hybrid learning
Interest in, willingness to, and ability to share online/hybrid knowledge and skills with others
Comfort with the new D2L Brightspace platform, as evidenced by successful completion of the DLE Core and DLE Pedagogy training.
Diverse distribution of fellows across a breadth of disciplines, academic schools/colleges, course types, and campus needs.
Vision for contributing to important goals and initiatives related to online learning that may include, but are not limited to, understanding pedagogical best practices in online learning, teaching GE5 courses in remote formats, teaching information literacy remotely, teaching critical thinking remotely, using OERs and using data visualization.
Expectations for Peer Instructional Design Mentor Teachers
Mentors will:
Participate in a Mentor Teacher Training program prior to the start of the Fall semester. This training program should take no more than 5-10 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 on-going 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 Provost, but may include:
Offering Instructional Technology web training presentations on relevant topics
Developing Instructional Technology web training videos on relevant topics
Working one-on-one with faculty or TAs needing assistance with online/hybrid course design/delivery.
