Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

About me

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt currently serves as the Vice President of Academic Affairs for the College of Health Care Professions based in Houston, Texas. Prior to this post he worked as an e-Learning consultant for companies across the USA. His primary research focus over the past four years has been the development of online learning Engagement Metrics. Dr. Vaillancourt’s 27 years of service in education includes multiple levels of experience in both private and public educational institutions. His professional positions include Online Campus President for Virginia College, National Dean of ITT's Online Division, Director of Education for Ultimate Medical Academy, President of a two-campus allied health college in Utah, Certified Cisco Academy Instructor, Master Certified Novell Instructor, and K-12 public school science teacher.

Dr. Vaillancourt’s BS and MS in Education were earned from Samford University in 1983 and 1989, respectively. He completed his Ed.D. in Instructional Technology and Distance Education from Nova Southeastern University in May 2004. Dr. Vaillancourt designed, founded and chaired the non-profit National Math Bee (2006-2011), which provided an online learning community for over 15,000 elementary school mathematics students in 37 states across the country.  He was a US Army soldier prior to his career in education.

Activity

Renee, Very good. Individualize chat sessions in which you review the established standards with positive feedback is one of the best things you can do. Confirming what was done right and gently correcting error is a necessity of the teaching. Both are important. Sometimes we just focus on correcting the error, which is only part of the job. Thank you for sharing your insights. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Renee, The challenges you identified are very common to new online teachers. Creating a vocabulary and refining your use of instructional dialogue for the textbased environment is an effort for almost everyone. Nevertheless, many teachers have found this medium to be just as exhilarating, but in different ways. Hang in there. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Michael, Your approach is very sound. There are many fields in which case study activity is extremely valuable as a teaching tool. Nice job. Thanks for sharing. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
John, Role-playing is a great strategy for allowing students to get a "feeling" for how it may be in the real-life scenario. Nice job. Thanks for sharing. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Elaina , Thank you for the references. These are good points to consider in this context. The max number of 25 is a very popular number. Identifying a minimum number is often overlooked, but can often be just as important as the max number. Very good points. Thank you for your contribution. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Elaina , This is a classic in many ways. It is also a powerful tactic in the online environment. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Joel, Great plan. Positive reinforcement mixed with corrective guidance is a great way to encourage success. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Elaina , Excellent point. Balance is a key component. Thank you for your insight. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
William, Yes, a mixture of individualized and group practice is a very good strategy. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Francis, Very good. Repetition is often frowned upon because it usually focuses on lower level thinking and memorization. Your perspective provides a good recommendation. Thanks for your contribution. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

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