Kim, I have been doing this for eleven years and have an instructors manual. This manual has been updated, changed and changed again. We are always finding new ideas and information that will help instructors to do the best work they can. It's all about education and it doesn't matter what side of the desk you are on.
In order to offer a new faculty orientation, we make sure that we spend a reasonable amount of time with them. We offer them a first interview where we give them a new faculty orientation, then we offer them a whole day of trainings that include facilitation techniques, learning styles and adult learners, and finally a trianing on assessment. In the new faculty orientation we give them a tour of the institution and we also give them information on procedures, policies and guidelines, etc.
Since most of our instructors are part time, there is no need to go over benefits. The resources that are available to each instructor are explained and email accounts are set up along with voice mail phone extensions.
There should be more standardized information provided to new instructors to make sure they are successful.
Our new instructors receive training in different areas prior to offering a course at our institution. They are given a general orientation that includes general procedures, etc. ANother one in facilitation techniques, learning styles and a final one in assessment. What I would do differently next time might be to discuss the KSAO's with them and perhaps do an analysis to see which ones are possessed and wich ones need to be worked on.
Hi John
Good response. What changes you could make in orientation to improve instructor retention?
John,
Maybe all new instructors should participate in a "new instructor's orientation conference call" to discuss the following:
Goals of school
Student demographics
Our Web Portal
Course Structure, grading rubric
Instructor Expectations
Etc.
Why don't you and I put this orientation together?
Hi Samuel
There is a challenge in orienting online, distance or telecommuting instructors. Whether it is making them feel part of the team or making sure operational policies are known, it is difficult.
I think you have a good strategy in setting up a conference call to welcome and orient instructors.
It is a little difficult orienting new instructors that you can only communicate with via email and the telephone. However, we do have training ready for them. We currently do the following:
Training conference call
Enroll them into a class as a student to become familiar with the course and our learning management system
Enroll each new instructor into online training courses prior to teaching
Assign each a "mentor"
We are always continuing to improve our training to enhance the abilities of our instructors. We also offer continuing education courses for our more seasoned instructors.
we are a medical training school, i am the one and only for the school as far as instructor /educational director, finacle, managment and any other position. i orient my instructors by walking them around the school, introductions, review of expectations, schedules and the flexability afterwards the orientation of the instructor in the class setting is as follow: i teach the first week of class with them as a student, we co teach the second week, the third week they are on their own with me as a student then they are evaluated at the end of the class.
Lori, you give a lot of hands-on training to your instructors which should help their performance. Have been happy with your instructor retention?
Orientations for our new part-time Instructors begin with a telephone meeting where responsibilities, due-dates/deadlines, and deliverables are reviewed and the Instructor's questions are addressed.
Next:
1) The Instructor is required to complete
each class they will be asked to teach.
2) New Instructors complete several online
training courses designed to enhance
their online teaching skills.
3) Instructors learn how to navigate our
learning management system…this is
handled in a one-on-one training session.
4) The new Instructor is assigned a “Leadâ€
who provides support and guidance for
their first and subsequent classroom
experiences.
This process takes approximately four to six weeks.
I also think that departmental/program meetings are a good way to help Instructors to feel as though they are part of a team. Regular conference meetings also serve to keep them informed.
Hi Ida
What do you do to initially orient your instructors?
Our institution provides a well-prepared training, with workshops, and even a welcome dinner.
On the first day of employment, the instructor is issued: an employee handbook (outlines job responsibilities, work schedule, benefits, salary, etc.); two manuals that cover methodology and technique ("The Unpolished Apple" and "The Competent Instructor") that were authored by me; and our training manual that details the administrative policies and procedures. The new hire is also assigned to a senior instructor for assistance in beginning our Performance Based Teacher Education (PBTE) program requirement. Since this orientation has passed muster with our accrediting agency, we would not do anything differently at this time.
recently hired a new instructor, basically i followed these guide lines and it has worked out very well.thank you
Our orientation process is currently very personal, and does not feel formalized. I think it works excellently. Something slips through the cracks here or there, but it is easily caught before it disappears entirely due to a supportive group.
We give them LMS training, how to teach online training, customer service training, orientation, etc.
Our current orientation includes reviewing handbooks, manuals and our catalog. We also provide tutorials to help boost various skills our instructors need. However, there is no guarantee that any of the materials were viewed by our new hires. I would like to develop a more efficient orientation but have yet to discover the best way to do that.
I orient them to all company policies and procedures and provide them with copies of all curricula that they will be teaching. Then they observe a class in each subject they will be teaching, and finally, they are evaluated teaching a class before they are put on the regular teaching schedule.
