Professional Development
YC TeLS offers opportunities to grow in your teaching practice.
Canvas Readiness Course
The Canvas Readiness Course course is meant to serve as a primer that will help you teach with and build courses in the YC Canvas Learning Management System (LMS). You can work through this course at your own pace.
REQUIRED for all adjunct instructors - available at all times.
Yavapai College has an obligation to assure that our teachers are able to do their job effectively, especially in the challenging online environment. This course is designed give you a basic knowledge of the Canvas LMS and the pedagogical fundamentals to teach online with skill and confidence, based on the accepted YC Design and Teaching standards. If you are already an experienced teacher, it is meant to assure fundamental Canvas competence. For new and aspiring online teachers, it is the beginning - from which your opportunity to grow in mastery is truly limitless.
The assessments in this course consist of short knowledge checks at the end of each module. You will pass the course by achieving a score of 100% on each knowledge check.
Teach Online Course
Our TEACH online course is a 2-week facilitated online experience that provides faculty with knowledge and practical methods to be a confident and effective online teacher. This course is for faculty new to teaching in an online environment, as well as faculty looking to improve their practice.
- Instructor presence makes all the difference
- Create active learning opportunities
- Meet YC design and teaching standards
- Learn along with your peers
Teachers have said about the course:
"There wasn't just one topic I found most useful. There were many. What I like most is the TeLs team provided simple yet comprehensive content AND additional resource links for topics. I can go to those resources on topics I need/want more info, but don't have to waste time going through resources on topics I already have mastery. "
"I enjoyed the discussion area and all of it - I reviewed and learned tons!"
"I'm thinking more about creating active learning activities in an online environment."
The next cohort dates are TBD.
- All full and part-time faculty eligible
- $200 stipend available at the completion of the course
- Approximately 10 hours of coursework over two weeks
Register for the TEACH Online course
Contact thatcher.bohrman@yc.edu with questions about TEACH Online course enrollment.
Improving Your Online Course Workshop (IYOC)
The IYOC workshop is a free professional development opportunity that explores the Quality Matters Rubric and provides a framework to improve the quality of online courses as part of the QM@YC initiative. Participants use the QM Rubric to review their own online courses and develop a course improvement plan.All full and part-time faculty are eligible for a $200 stipend after completing the workshop.
Contact an.pfister@yc.edu with questions.
Open Educational Resources (OER) Training Courses
OER Training for Course Builders
This is a facilitated asynchronous training that consists of approximately 10 hours of coursework and can be completed in 6 weeks or less. Faculty who are interested in building their own OER course shell must complete this training prior to submitting an OER build proposal. It must be completed by YC instructors who wish to teach or build OER courses at YC. It's also open to any faculty member interested in the subject. Completers receive a $200 stipend.
The next cohort dates are TBD.
- Cohort 23: TBD
OER Training for Teachers
This is a completely asynchronous training that can be completed in approximately 3-4 hours. Faculty who are teaching a course with an approved OER course shell must complete this training.
Register at the OER course registration site.
Contact megan.crossfield@yc.edu with questions about OER course enrollment.
The Summer Institute
The 19th Summer Institute will take place on Thursday, May 9th, 2024.
The keynote from the 2023 SI, The Poetry of Prompts: Navigating the AI and XR Renaissance in Higher Education, JAMES HUTSON, Ph.D., Lindenwood University, addressed some of the most pressing issues and opportunities impacting education. You can watch his recorded talk at the institute.
The Summer Institute is presented by the Teaching and eLearning Support department in partnership with the Instruction Committee (IC).
AboutThe Summer Institute is an annual event where YC faculty and staff offer and receive training from their peers in a huge variety of topics around teaching and learning. It's a place where teachers share best practices, techniques, educational issues, new technologies, as well as share meals, socialize and have fun together. Keynote speakers from inside and outside the college are regularly present. The first institute was offered during the summer of 2006. It was a 6-day training event, where 58 faculty members were in attendance, during which 1148 training hours were provided.
The Summer Institute is presented by the Teaching and eLearning Support department in partnership with the Teaching and Learning Committee (TLC).
Faculty Blogging Challenge
This is an annual event in the fall where faculty write about teaching and learning for 6 weeks.
Read blogs from the 10th annual event on the TeLS webletter!