More than 90 Palm Beach State College faculty members have received a nationally recognized teaching credential co-endorsed by the Association of College and University Educators and the American Council on Education.
The credential was awarded after faculty completed the Effective Online Teaching Practices 25-module course, where they learned evidence-based teaching practices proven to improve student achievement and close equity gaps. Aligned with research in cognition and adult learning, the ACUE course covers how to design an effective online course, establish a productive learning environment, use active learning techniques, promote higher order thinking and utilize assessments to inform instruction and promote learning. The course requires faculty to implement the teaching practices within their PBSC courses.
PBSC will celebrate the inaugural group at a pinning ceremony at 12:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27, in the Public Safety Training Center (Room 108) on the Lake Worth campus.
“More students are taking online course than ever before. We’ve seen a shift, and the shift is permanent,’’ said Roger Yohe, vice president of academic innovation and strategy. “Palm Beach State is responding by supporting its faculty with this certification. We have to keep our emphasis on quality because students expect more today with online education.”
Yohe said 268 full-time and part-time faculty teach fully online, and the goal is for all of them to obtain the credential. Nearly 60% of PBSC’s course enrollments this term are for traditional online and live online classes.
Robb Erwin, faculty development manager, reports that the credential recipients represent all PBSC campuses, all faculty ranks, and a broad cross-section of academic disciplines.