Not sure what to write about this week. I have a couple of pieces started on online instructional practices and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, but I think I’ll save those two for a week when everyone is back. So this week’s Musings will be short and sweet.
Find Ways Forward This past week I’ve been reflecting on the Q’s and some of the next steps in the ambitious culture initiative we’ve all been involved in. I think the Q’s provide some very good starting places for individuals and units to build community, establish trust and continue working on the real work of providing quality educational experiences for students who come to NorQuest seeking a safe place to grow in their understanding, acquire new skills and create opportunities for themselves. That said, Covid and cutbacks have made it hard to keep positive. Enrollment numbers, especially of international students, are significantly down and that has caused some departments to face some very challenging scenarios and decisions. Once again, there is anxiety and uncertainty around staffing, support and service. Well perhaps now it is even more important to look to the Q’s for some direction and hope, while we face these troubling circumstances. Difficult decisions and uncertain conditions necessitate that we “show compassion”, “have honest conversations” and “find ways forward”. That means moving past the tendency to make our Q’s into cute but empty catch phrases or Coke bottle slogans, and dig deep to examine how we can put the principles in the Q’s into practice. I’ve had a quick look at some of the data emerging from the “difference makers” work and there are all sorts of suggestions and opportunities that were shared. The question is, “Are we ready to make that commitment?” How can we show, in our words and actions, that we are continuing to grow in our understanding of safety, inclusion, community, support, opportunity, respect and care? Moreover, how will this be very evident to our students and to our colleagues? More on this in a later musing, time to do some more deep digging!
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Well it has been 7 weeks since my last Monday Morning Musing. I went on vacation at the beginning of July, and when I came back to work, things were quiet – except for the instructors in language instruction and LINC. They just kept motoring along! What I learned on my summer vacation… On my “staycation” I managed to do a lot of work on my patio. Cynthia and I spent most of our quality time doing intense, manual labor. I prefer to think of it as my “2020 Covid-19 fitness workout”. Now, nearing the end of our project, we are thrilled with how it all looks. However, there were some challenging moments. I had a feeling that the project would not be an easy one. However, as most do-it-yourselfers soon find out, I just had no clear idea of just how much planning, dumb labor, fine motor skill, perseverance, dumb labor, compromise, new learning, and dumb labor it would require. And don’t get me started on the number of times I ended up going to the hardware store or the rental shop to buy more materials or rent a tool for the day! I think the most stressful part was in operating the gas powered concrete saw to make cuts in the forty-pound pavers. I did not want to make any mistakes (I did make a few though), and I did not want to lose any fingers (I still have all ten)! Now, as I turn my focus back to supporting faculty with the world of online teaching, I can see a few parallels between planning and building our patio and planning and facilitating an online course.
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AuthorJeff Kuntz Ph.D. ImagesExcept where indicated, images used in the blog posts are personal photos, images from NorQuest College or images from Pixabay. Pixabay is a vibrant community of creatives, sharing copyright free images, videos and music. https://pixabay.com/ Archives
March 2024
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