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Essential Competencies of a Valencia Educator

v     Demonstrate Learning-centered Teaching Strategies 

Indicators

• employ strategies and techniques that guide students to become more active learners (engaging lectures, discussion, experiential learning, scenarios, role-play, case study, problem-based learning, inquiry-based learning, manipulatives, etc.)
• encourage students to challenge ideas
• use cooperative/collaborative learning strategies
• integrate concrete, real-life situations into learning strategies
• invite student input (outcome goals, choice among assignment topics, learning activities, etc.)

    v     Measure Valencia’s Core Competencies: Think, Value, Communicate, Act* 

Indicators

• engage students in construction of knowledge (through guided research projects or other applications of the discipline's procedures for creating knowledge)
• facilitate the discovery and use of the ways of knowing in discipline
• align course, library, or counseling outcomes and learning activities with core competencies
• design assignments and assessments that demonstrate student growth in the core competencies
• document student growth in the core competencies
• collaborate with colleagues and dean to assure and demonstrate progression of student learning across courses and programs

*Note:  Most course outcomes incorporate TVCA, but have not intentionally sought to collect evidence of student growth in these competencies. 

v     Incorporate LifeMap concepts as tools for learning

Indicators

• help students to continue clarifying and developing purpose (attention to life, career, education goals)
• help students assume responsibility for making informed decisions
• help students transfer life skills to continued learning and planning in their academic, personal, and professional endeavors
• establish student & faculty contact that contributes to students' academic, personal, and professional growth
• seek out struggling students and identify options through dialog (and appropriate referrals)
• establish student services staff, librarian, and teacher connections
• employ electronic tools to aid student contact (Atlas, MyPortfolio, WebCT, email, etc.)

v     Use Assessment as a tool for learning 

Indicators

• employ formative feedback loops early and often to assess student learning
• employ formative feedback loops early and often to inform students of their learning progress
• employ a variety of assessment measures and techniques (both formative and summative) to form a more complete picture of learning (classroom assessment techniques, authentic assessments,  oral presentations, exams, student portfolios, journals, projects, etc.)
• give timely feedback on class activities, exams and papers
• align summative evaluations with course outcomes and learning activities (appropriate to level of thinking; appropriate levels of performance)
• design activities to help students refine their abilities to self-assess their learning
• employ formative feedback to assess the effectiveness of teaching, counseling, and librarianship practices
• evaluate effectiveness of assessment strategies and grading practices
• make assessment criteria public to students and colleagues

v     Form an inclusive learning environment that respects diverse talents and ways of learning 

Indicators

• design learning experiences that address students' unique strengths*

• design learning experiences that address students' unique needs*

• develop reciprocity and cooperation among students (interdependence and teamwork)

• include content well-suited to Valencia's diverse student population

• foster connections among students in and out of the classroom, counseling and library envornments (learning communities)

• vary assessment measures and techniques to engage cognitive diversity

• create learning atmospheres that encourage all students to share viewpoints

• use diverse perspectives to engage and deepen critical thinking (diversity as learning resource)

• develop student self-awareness (learning styles, personality types, assumptions, thinking styles, etc.)

v     Engage in the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SofTL) 

Indicators

• produce professional work (action research or traditional research) that meets the Valencia Standards of Scholarship

• build upon the work of others (consult literature, peers, self, students)
• be open to constructive critique (by both peers and students)
• make work public to college and broader audiences
• demonstrate relationship of SofTL to improved teaching and learning processes
• demonstrate current  teaching and learning theory & practice

v     Demonstrate Professional Commitment

Indicators

• stay current in discipline (professional organizations, conferences, journals and other literature)
• contribute to discipline/academic field
• participate actively on department, campus and college meetings/committees/task forces
• engage with faculty governing bodies
• access faculty development programs and resources
• collaborate with colleagues in department/discipline
• expand knowledge of college connections to wider communities (Focus on the Workplace; student development activities; trends in business and government…)