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

Discussion Comment

The Optimal Online Student-Instructor Ratio

Dan, There aren't many online instructors to agree with that number. Thank you for your considered input. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Discussion Comment

Developing Analytical Skills

Joel, It is definitely a challenge. In the late 80s I did use some of Robert Slavin's materials and processes in my classrooms. As with most tools, it took sometime for me to refine my implementation to work as prescribed by Dr. Slavin. However, this in class 'try' in cooperative learning instruction was challenging, but I think overall it was successful. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Discussion Comment

Discipline in Critical Thinking

Joel, Your premise of critical thinking subjects not requiring only simple oneâ€“decision issues, is of course the reason for discipline to look at multifaceted situations for multiple approaches. Your statement, "When we limit our data, we limit our options," says it well. Thank you for sharing your insights. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Discussion Comment

The Responsibilities of Teaching Online

Ginny, The requirement for regular and immediate feedback via e-mail and discussion boards can provide a more constant demand on the instructor. But I agree the and responsibilities are the same in providing quicker responses (hopefully less than 24 hours) will optimize student opportunity to move forward successfully. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Discussion Comment

The Optimal Online Student-Instructor Ratio

Dan, Your numbers and descriptions add up correctly, for me. Dynamic classroom discussion and synergy is often more robust when you can have 15 or so students. Thank you for your insights. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Discussion Comment

Using Reflective Thinking

Harrison, As difficult as it is in the fast pace of what you're doing, teaching them (as basic as it seems) to reflect on the information before making decisions about the use of the information is an incredibly important component of what you do. I believe your 'diagnosis' is very correct, but in order to "get them to THINK" you will first need to take most of them through the process in a collaborative learning exercise. Which of course, does take time â€“ if accomplished in the right manner. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Discussion Comment

Developing Critical Thinking Skills

Joel, I agree and have the same experience with many of my students. This brings to mind the old adage "Which is worse, ignorance or apathy?" and the reply being "I don't know and I don't care." My approach in the classroom is to provide opportunities where the students have as much "skin in the game" as possible for decisions of information uses and source. Making the reliability of the source part of the grading rubric tends to help with this, but not eliminate the difficulty. The Department of Education meta-analysis of 10 years of research that was published back… >>>

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Discussion Comment

Instructor Presence

Dan, ...and not only point them in the right direction, but sometimes heartily 'nudge' them. ;-] I found it to be a much more demanding way to teach, as well - and still do. Your quick response and encouragement approach is solid. Keep up the great work. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Discussion Comment

The Optimal Online Student-Instructor Ratio

Sandra, The experiences you share and lessons learned make good sense. The student interactivity within the chat room of the larger class is one of the key elements of online learning. As you indicated, definite improvements occur when the student to student interaction is based on the academic goals of the class. As facilitator you are able to accommodate the real-time (synchronous) discussion and encourage all of the students attending the forum to have some level of participation. The asynchronous forum has a very narrow window of dynamic interchange and relies on the student to retrieve the information, as you… >>>

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Discussion Comment

The Responsibilities of Teaching Online

Marcia, Your point about the additional attention required toward communication and organization by the instructor is well stated. The level of effort required in these two areas for online environments is almost always escalated for comparable instructional effect. Thank you for your insights. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

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