Today was the first metagenomics lab session. It was a lot of fun… though also a long session. Tonight we watched an ALT 2021 session entitled “The show must go on: reflecting on transitioning a programme of face-to-face staff development events online.” The presenters, Charlotte Stevens and Karen Hamilton, are part of the instructor development program from The Open University. Stevens provided some facts and figures about the Open University (OU). I did not realize it has over 175,000 students and over 30,000 declared a disability (OU 2019/2020). Hamilton explained how OU supported lecturers. Prior to the pandemic, OU held dozens of in-person workshops and conferences. During the pandemic, OU has transitioned to virtual events. Stevens shared a quote from Bamber and Stefani 2016: “Evaluation is important, and educational developers will increasingly be required to demonstrate value.” Instead of focusing on the number of attendees and workshops, they developed a co-evaluation model that includes feedback from associate lecturers and presenters. Their methodology included survey analysis and coding. They obtained responses from 509 associate lecturers corresponding to a 47% response rate with 93% of respondents finding the events useful in helping them develop in their role. Eighty percent of respondents reflected on ways to support students after interacting with others at the events. The majority of presenters (88%) thought participation helped them develop their own skills. Hamilton mentioned that they will encourage presenters to record their sessions and offer training to all presenters (for example, using Adobe Connect). Hamilton encouraged presenters to “develop bonds.” with colleagues. Another great suggestion Hamilton had was having presenters create a summary slide that can be posted and shared. Timing, duration, and expectations for participation are challenges. Hamilton explained how building in time for reflections and breaks is important. Hamilton and Stevens spoke about future workshops and modifications to improve the 2021-2022 events. They are also undertaking a longitudinal study to follow up and interview lecturers after the workshops. I have been thinking and working on the future of the HITS workshops. We have some ideas for how to expand and collaborate with other groups, and I am excited about the possibility of offering virtual professional development. Learning from others about the challenges and evaluation of workshops will help us develop better programming.
