5f.1. How is professional development related to needs identified in unit evaluations of faculty? How does this occur?

At the start of each Fall and Spring semester, the University of Louisiana Monroe sponsors Faculty Week. Two days during this week, faculty members offer professional development workshops on various topics throughout campus (Exhibit 5f1.1 Faculty Week Workshops). The Teaching and Learning Center (TLRC) organizes this event.

Technology was 1 of 2 key areas where faculty perceived the need for more development, because the unit started offering more and more courses and even programs online. 95% percent of our unit faculty attended professional development workshops related to technology (Exhibit 5b2.1 Standard 5 Survey).

Assessment and accreditation was the second area of a perceived need for professional development. The unit routinely sends several representatives to the AACTE/NCATE institutional orientations twice a year. Since 2004, an average of 5 unit faculty members per year participated in those workshops, and then they share information with colleagues on campus. The unit has collaborated with assessment consultants who work with faculty members in preparing the specialty program area and NCATE reports. To further enhance faculty understanding of assessment and other areas in their field, the unit provides professional development opportunities via the support for travel to professional conferences and workshops. (Exhibit 5f1.2 Professional Development on Assessment and Accreditation)

5f.2. What professional development activities are offered to faculty related to performance assessment, diversity, technology, emerging practices, and/or the unit's conceptual framework?

The University of Louisiana is heavily committed to university wide faculty development. Unique among Louisiana universities, ULM has an additional work week prior to each academic semester entitled Faculty Week which is devoted to faculty development. During University Week, Tuesday and Wednesday are full days of workshops devoted to faculty development with various sessions offered in the areas of technology, assessments, and emerging practices. ULM also has the Teaching and Learning Resource Center devoted to offering developmental training to faculty throughout the academic year. Throughout the year, various workshops are offered by faculty covering a variety of topics dealing with the use of technology such as Turning Point, TaskStream, and Moodle.

5f.3. How often does faculty participate in professional development activities both on and off campus? [Include adjunct/part-time, tenured, and non-tenured faculty, as well as graduate teaching assistants.]

An analysis of faculty’s (includes adjunct/part-time, tenured and non-tenured faculty) responses to a recent survey revealed that 75% had participated in professional development activities involving performance assessment, 80% involving diversity training, 95% on technology, and 80% on emerging practices. Faculty reported attending 4-5 on-campus professional development activities on average during the past 4 years. These activities involved workshops presented at the departmental and college level, presentation during the Faculty Week, and workshops offered through the Teaching and Learning Resource Center. These activities included: BlackBoard, Diversity Training, Test Security ETS, LATAAP, Seminar on Legal Issues at the University Level, Region 8 Assistive Technology Workshop, NCATE SPA Workshop, Creating Videos for Classroom, Team-Building Workshop, Strategies for Effective On-Line Teaching, etc.

In addition, faculty reported attending an annual average of 3-4 off-campus professional development activities. The off-campus activities included attending local, state, regional and national conferences and workshops. Such as:  NCATE, Diversity Training, Reading conference, Special Education Institute, etc. (Exhibit 5f3.1 On Campus and Off Campus Training)

5f.4. (Optional Upload for Online IR) Tables, figures, and a list of links to key exhibits related to the unit's facilitation of professional development may be attached here. [Because BOE members should be able to access many exhibits electronically, a limited number of attachments (0-3) should be uploaded.]

1. What does your unit do particularly well related to Standard 5?

• Curriculum and Instruction faculty had a total of 11 grants, 31 publications and 112 presentations in the 2008-2009 academic year. 

• Governor Bobby Jindal visited ULM in August 2008 to announce the CEHD as the state’s Premier provider for the Louisiana Leader Fellows program.  Funded by the Wallace Foundation this pilot program trained highly-qualified teachers to become principals or administrators in high-poverty and high-need schools in Louisiana.

• Dr. Leonard Clark and Dr. Thilla Sivakumaran developed a mentoring program by partnering with Big Brothers Big/Sisters of Northeast Louisiana

• Dr. Beth Ricks is developing the C&I Literacy Lab

• Active Grants

2. What research related to Standard 5 is being conducted by the unit or its faculty?