It Takes A Village, Part II: How Faculty Connections Support Student Learning in the Education and Skills Training (ESTR) Program During and After A Pandemic

Q: What do an ESTR Instructor, a Reference Librarian, Coordinators of Educational Technologies and Innovation, and a Coordinator of Learning and Faculty Development have in common? 
A: A deep commitment to student learning!

As with most programs at TRU, the ESTR students made the shift to online learning and were unable to do their fall in-community practica: instead, they engaged in skill development in their safety bubble.  To broaden and enrich these experiences, small groups of students and their instructor had regular, structured consultations with a Reference Librarian. These sessions were, like all of the other content from the course, delivered virtually.

While the technology and design of the course were ultimately the responsibility of the instructor, the development of both were supported and facilitated by the faculty development opportunities and one-on-one support offered by  Educational Technology Coordinators and a Coordinator from TRU’s Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT).

In this session, we will share how our individual contributions built a whole that was greater than the sum of its parts.  Then, we will explore how to preserve the best of our discoveries and learnings from this past year and ask:  How we can hold on to the good things from this year as we prepare for a return to campus?