Daytona State College is committed to supporting the pursuit of scholarship through faculty participation in professional development activities. The College provides a number of in‐house professional development opportunities designed to assist faculty learn and implement new practices, enhance professional achievements, and update skills. These activities are coordinated by the Office of Professional Development, whose mission includes enhancing the teaching and learning environment of the college by coordinating and promoting internal and external opportunities and resources that support the college’s mission. The Office aids the development and growth of the individual and the institution through:
Visit the Professional Development website or contact Rachael Dougherty for more information.
Adjunct faculty are welcome to participate in:
The Academic Excellence Symposium provides a forum for intellectual discussion and presentation that demonstrates innovation in teaching and/or research, as well as expertise and creativity in faculty disciplines. The intent of the Symposium is to open up discussions on topics of interest in higher education, provide a day of faculty development, and showcase talented members within the Central Florida higher education community.
Each year, a theme for the Symposium is developed in response to current trends and issues in higher education. A call for proposals is developed and distributed to all Daytona State College faculty and staff in addition to other institutions of higher education in the area. The Academic Excellence Symposium (usually) takes place on the first Friday of March during the spring semester each year.
The Academic Excellence Symposium is organized by a committee which develops each year’s theme, distributes the call for proposals, reviews proposals, identifies keynote speakers, and supports the facilitation of the Symposium on the day of the event.
Organized through Faculty Senate, the Community of Practice in Teaching and Learning provides a forum for faculty to collaborate informally in an environment that encourages synergistic idea generation, trust, and knowledge sharing to enhance teaching and learning, faculty development, and a stronger sense of community among faculty.
(a) Structure
Through a Community of Practice, faculty members share ideas, best practices, and concerns; discuss topics of common interest; and promote a sense of community. The Community of Practice uses an informal approach of mutual engagement to discuss important issues in an unstructured way. Discussions evolve naturally, encourage exploration and investigation, and do not have rigid structures or timelines. Consequently, faculty work collaboratively to share tacit knowledge, learn from each other, and draw on their diverse experiences and expertise. The methods used by the group include storytelling, observation, and open dialogue, sharing personal experiences and research, and experiential learning exercises. The Community of Practice promotes authentic communication; enables dialog, self‐reflection, and mentoring; and helps members improve their skills and expertise in a shared area of interest.
(b) Selected Topics
Cross Training sessions are provided each Friday morning on a wide variety of topics relevant to the college community. Originally designed to facilitate the exchange of information within the Enrollment Division, these trainings have grown in popularity and are currently offered to all college employees. Cross Training sessions are provided in a face‐to‐face and online format (via Microsoft Teams). Previous Cross Training Sessions are archived and available on demand in the Document Repository.
To receive email notifications of Cross Trainings, please email Monica Buxo.
The Faculty Fellows Program is a faculty designation that provides recognition of and a pathway for faculty leadership at the college through various peer-to-peer professional development programs. Currently, Faculty Fellows can earn credentials through the Faculty Innovation Center, the WAC/WID Program, and the Service-Learning Professional Development Program. Once credentialed, they are eligible to work as peer mentors. Faculty earning program credentials will also earn professional development credit for the purposes of continuing education, continuing contract, and promotion. Faculty Fellows are further eligible to earn a stipend or course release when they work as a peer mentor in the Faculty Fellows Program.
The Faculty Innovation Center is part of the Division of Online Studies. The mission of Online Studies is to ensure a high-quality online environment for faculty and student success. Faculty Fellows in Innovation will commit three hours per week to working in the Faculty Innovation Center creating teaching resources for the online environment. This work will then be presented to peers during the subsequent major semester.
If you are interested in becoming a Faculty Fellow in the Innovation Center, contact Dr. Cheryl Kohen, Dean of the Division of Online Studies.
Service Learning (SL) has been identified as a high-impact pedagogical practice to increase student retention, assist students in identifying career paths and provide pathways for students to impact their local communities. Faculty Fellows in SL are committed to supporting faculty through the process of implementation of service-learning pedagogical approaches into their classes. Service as a Faculty Fellow in the SL program gives faculty members the opportunity to guide and collaborate with peers to strengthen the SL practice within classrooms and across the college.
If you are interested in becoming a Faculty Fellow in Service Learning, contact Sue Wheeler, Chair of the Service-Learning Committee.
Working as a Faculty Fellow in the WAC/WID program gives you the opportunity to collaborate with your peers and lead the campus community in developing multiple literacies in our student population. As a Faculty Fellow in WAC/WID, you are responsible for facilitating the program, which may include mentoring other faculty members, performing classroom observations for program participants, facilitating the Online Program, and/or facilitating the Teaching and Learning Retreat. Compensation for your time is given as a course release or a stipend. Fellows can elect to serve one semester or multiple semesters. Faculty serving as fellows also earn leadership credit for the purposes of continuing education, tenure, and promotion.
If you've completed each element of the WAC/WID program, and you are interested in participating in the DSC Writing Center's WAC/WID: Faculty Fellows Program, complete the application and return it to Dr. Jessica Lipsey or Billie Dunaway.
Planning weeks are offered prior to the start of classes during the fall and spring semesters. Traditionally, the President and members of the senior administration address the college community to launch planning weeks. Departmental and constituency meetings are organized during the remainder of the week, and special topic workshops are offered to inform the college community on a wide array of subjects.
The Office of Professional Development organizes the planning weeks and solicits presenters interested in leading workshops. The department also facilitates the evaluation of planning week activities. Please direct any planning week related questions or requests to Rachael Dougherty.
The Center for Interactive Media/WDSC‐TV15 provides educational technology support to all faculty at no cost. Faculty and staff will be assisted in their pursuit of the latest equipment and applications available for instructional use including computers, web cameras, microphones, cameras, iPods, scanners, interactive whiteboards, and electronic boards, and video editing, etc.
The Office of Professional Development offers web-based, self-directed learning opportunities available to all Daytona State College employees. Details on these and other training opportunities are available at the Professional Development InfoGuide.
The Professional Development Opportunity Awards provide funding of up to $1,750 in support of significant professional development activities that directly support the employee’s contribution at Daytona State College. These awards are intended to support non‐compulsory professional development activities that are not funded through other sources.
To be eligible to receive a Professional Development Opportunity Award, employees must be regular, full‐time, and not currently under a probationary period. Eligible employees will complete an application which includes a description of the professional development activity for which funding is requested and clearly articulates how participation in this activity will support the college’s mission and the outcomes of the applicant’s respective department. In addition, applicants provide a dissemination plan that clearly describes the strategy for sharing the knowledge gained from participation in the proposed activity with the larger college community. Employees are limited to one PDOA allocation per fiscal year. Professional Development Opportunity Awards applications are available via the Professional Development Opportunity Awards website.
The Service-Learning Professional Development Program is designed to assist faculty with incorporating service-learning into their courses. Research shows that including a service-learning component in course curriculum can positively influence student retention, persistence, academic progress, personal growth, and career opportunities. Topics to be covered will include types of service-learning strategies, their goals and benefits, available resources, and how to assess outcomes and effectiveness. The Service-Learning Professional Development program is a two-semester experience, beginning with a fall semester course, followed by a spring semester mentorship led by the Faculty Fellow in Service Learning. This program is open to all faculty, including Adjuncts.
Additional details are available on the Service Learning website.
The Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) and Writing-in-the-Disciplines (WID) Professional Development Program at Daytona State College prepares and supports faculty to use writing to learn strategies as a critical thinking tool for disciplinary content and/or to teach discipline-specific writing strategies. The ultimate goal of the program is to equip students with the literacy aptitudes necessary for a world that demands strong communication skills in a range of disciplines, in myriad genres, and for varied audiences.
There are four major components to the WAC/WID Professional Development Program. Each component is a separate professional development opportunity available to full-time faculty, adjunct faculty, and/or staff.
Faculty who have participated in all segments of the WAC/WID program are eligible to be Faculty Fellows. Faculty Fellows act as peer mentors and facilitators for the WAC/WID Program and are eligible for a course release or stipend.
Faculty interested in participating in any aspect of the Writing Center’s WAC/WID program should contact Jessica Lipsey at Jessica.Lipsey@DaytonaState.edu or Bille Jo Dunaway at Billie-Jo.Dunaway@daytonastate.edu. Visit the DSC Writing Center’s WAC/WID program InfoGuide tab to learn more.