Nine Clark College faculty members have completed a new professional development certification for online teaching. The certification was designed by the college to address U.S. Department of Education requirements for regular and substantive interaction (RSI) in online courses. This certification was created, implemented, and awarded by Clark College, not the U.S. Department of Education.  

Congratulations to the following faculty who completed the Clark eLearning Active Delivery Certification as of November 21, 2023: 

• Patricia Atkinson, Economics 
• Kimbree Brown, Psychology 
• Adam Coleman, Computer Technology 
• Kate Cook, Mathematics 
• Harold (Chris) Kernion, Communication Studies 
• Mackenzie Loyet, Biology 
• Richa Sharma, Communication Studies 
• Charlie Sheese, Communication Studies 
• Jennifer Stone Hill, English 

In addition to the above faculty, 20 more Clark faculty have completed one or more of the workshops and are on the path to earn the certification during 2024. 

Clark’s eLearning Active Delivery Certification launched Fall 2022 in its current iteration. The certification takes about 15 months to complete and consists of five online workshops: 

1. eL301-Introduction to Active Delivery 

2. eL302-Equity-minded and Culturally Responsive Teaching for Student Motivation and Success 

3. eL303-Presence in the Phases of a Course 

4. eL304-Active Delivery Strategies 

5. eL305-Active Delivery and Scaffolding 

“It’s a badge of pride to earn this certification,” said Kathy Chatfield, eLearning Instruction and Design at Clark College. “What these instructors have achieved is a big deal. This RSI is the Department of Education’s way of regulating what is expected when teaching online courses.” 

Chatfield added, “This professional development certification is a critical aspect for Clark College accreditation. We’ve been very successful with our professional development, incrementally adding more advanced andragogy and skills for teaching more effectively with instructional technology.” 

The learning objectives for Active Delivery Certification are: 

• Assess determinants of presence and related instructor roles 
• Plan and develop formative feedback focused on student achievement of learning objectives 
• Evaluate and apply universally designed, equity-minded, and culturally responsive active delivery strategies 

Originally, Clark began offering the certification during summer 2017, but it was in one lengthy institute that was offered just once per year. When COVID hit and forced all instruction to go online in spring 2020, the college redesigned the certification to divide the content into more manageable pieces and offer it as part of the regular eLearning workshops. 

Chatfield said, “We quickly realized it was too much for an individual to accomplish in a condensed format. So, we took the material and created five workshops, each taking two weeks of participation and a third week of submitting deliverables. We also designed the modular workshops so they don’t have to be taken in order.” 

Faculty do not pay to take the workshops or to earn the certification. In fact, faculty who complete the certification are provided a $500 stipend from the college. Additionally, those who recently earned the certification received another $500 stipend provided by the Faculty Excellence Committee via Clark College Foundation. Chatfield said the extra $500 provided by the Foundation likely will not be available after June 2024.  

Faculty register for professional development via Eventbrite. These 300-level workshops use the asynchronous online modality. All are facilitated by eLearning instructional designers. The workshops have had waiting lists.  

Chatfield said, “We’re not offering this professional development certification to follow the rules. We’re doing it because it’s just good teaching and learning. The research has been overwhelming that these are the best practices. Rather than just meeting the rules, Clark has always gone above and beyond to ensure our students are receiving the best teaching and learning experience possible.” 

Q & A about Active Delivery Certification 

Q: When did Clark College begin providing professional development for faculty who teach in eLearning modalities?  

KC: Clark College launched distance learning in 2005. We’ve been providing professional development since 2006. With every continuing year, we provide more advanced certification. We’ve been very successful with our professional development.” 

Q: Who are the people designing the components for this certification? 

KC: All instructional designers for the certification are adjunct faculty at Clark who currently teach at Clark. All have long-term connections with Clark. 

Q: Why create this certification?  

KC: The effort is designed to address Department of Education requirements for RSI (Regular and Substantive Interaction) in online courses. The underlying reason for more faculty to earn the certification is that we want Clark College to be the leader in quality online education. Clark College is currently offering about 13 degrees that students can earn fully online. We want Clark College to have a reputation for doing online learning well.  

Q: How can Clark College faculty register for Active Delivery Certification and Clark’s other eLearning professional development?  

KC: Clark College eLearning Events | Eventbrite 

The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) is reaching out to programs and departments at Clark College to offer equity development support and training every Wednesday, calling the program “Work-It Wednesday.” It’s open to all college employees, departments and groups that want help with ongoing equity work. The program is designed to be flexible to help employees infuse equity principles into a program, project, initiative, or effort at any stage in the process.  

To better understand the program, we asked early adopters at Clark on their experience with Work-It Wednesday. 

At the Library: Connor Cantrell, Interim Resource Sharing Supervisor 

Clark College: Can you provide information on the program, project, initiative, or effort that needed ODEI’s guidance/input? 

Connor: We met with ODEI multiple times during Summer and Fall 2019 to organize social equity training for our department in the library. All four of the FTEs in our department (Connor Cantrell, Amanda Brown, Tasha Robertson, and Connie Anderson) in the planning and the entire department (including FTEs, 1050s, and student employees) have participated in the training program. It consists of weekly reading and reflection activities and occasional presentations. 

Clark College: What was the process? How did it impact your project? What did you learn? 

Connor: We originally had planned on a one-time presentation, but quickly realized the program needed to be integrated more closely into our department’s operations. By our second meeting, we had drafted an outline of a presentation designed to set up a weekly reading and reflection activity. Rosalba [Pitkin] attended our October 2019 presentation and provided feedback that informed our future training. Since then, we have met with ODEI several times as we encountered roadblocks. We always left with an equitable solution. As a result, we were empowered to implement a program that fits our department’s needs and connects to the college’s equity initiatives. 

Clark College:  Did your time with ODEI staff impact your outlook or decision-making for future work? 

Connor: Our WiW sessions equipped us with the tools to begin making changes in our workplace. Although we are classified staff, we realized we essentially would be “teaching” our department coworkers and student employees we supervise about equitable practices. We did not feel qualified to take on this teaching role. However, ODEI taught us how to prepare our department for these sometimes-difficult conversations by creating shared norms and how to incorporate active learning principles with our student employees by creating feedback channels during our activities. We have utilized the strategies ODEI gave us to help us engage coworkers in conversations about equitable practices. 

Clark College: Would you like to add anything else about Work-It Wednesday? 

Connor: We are grateful to ODEI for all their assistance and guidance. Everyone in our department (and many other employees and library patrons) have benefited directly from ODEI’s guidance. Since we started discussing this project in August 2019, both the college and the library have experienced significant and often stressful changes. Leading our discussions and decision-making processes with racial equity has provided clarity and has minimized harm as we navigate these changes and everyday systemic barriers. Additionally, we feel that explicitly affirming our commitment to racial equity and to serving systemically non-dominant folks significantly has  improved our workplace, and especially for our student employees. 

At Child and Family Studies: Michele Volk, Director

Clark College: Can you provide info on the program, project, initiative, or effort that needed ODEI’s guidance/input? 

Michele: We are revising our department’s communication and conflict resolution policy and process  for our staff and family handbooks at Child and Family Studies, for accreditation and practical application. Of course, we encourage direct, open and respectful communication. However, like all departments, we often work with people who have many perspectives, a range of experiences, different views and even conflicts. It is important to have a model that encourages a safe space where all voices are heard, valued and respected during a potentially emotional situation. 

We started asking for interest and input within our department. Using that input, I reviewed mission and values, researching about conflict resolution and social justice, and began developing our model. Our goal is a conflict resolution modeled that honors all parties and has the potential to repair relationships. I hoped that working with WiW would reduce communication barriers, examine whose voices are heard, and to consider other views and lived experiences. We realized the value in having another lens examine our language. Words matter. 

Clark College: What was the process? How did it impact your project? What did you learn? 

Michele: ODEI staff are excellent at helping you tease out your goals, the intent, how the policy, procedure or process may be perceived, to consider how it impacts others and possible ways to make it equitable and accessible for all employees. The team asked insightful, reflective questions that spurred us to think more deeply, both individually and collectively. It made me look for systemic barriers within this model and process. And also, to reflect on other policies to consider revisiting, and to seek input from stakeholders. To have three to four people, very knowledgeable, with rich collective experience helped me slow down and work toward a meaningful and equitable policy and process. I look forward to our department’s next step in Fall: rolling out our new communication and conflict resolution policy that supports the values of being in relationship in the early care education setting. 

Clark College: Did your time with ODEI staff impact your outlook or decision-making for future work? 

Michele: Yes. WiW and the BUILD program have helped me to reflect and to consider how and when my own bias and systemic roots might come into play. This intentional planning helped me put aside the sense of urgency and to focus on being intentional and to consider many more layers than I would have previously. After meeting with ODEI, I also found myself examining language with more curiosity and intent. Going forward, I will use Clark’s equitable decision-making tool as a routine part of my work and decision making at CFS. 

Clark College: Anything else you’d like to add about Work-It Wednesday? 

Michele: ODEI is a place of learning. They meet you where you are with warmth and genuine care for our work  and our impact on students and employees. WiW is a comfortable place to dig into uncomfortable conversations—and to grow our skills and knowledge as staff, instructors, and leaders. Many thanks to Alyssa, Rosalba, D, Melissa, and Rashida for bringing this vital program to campus! 

Clark College employee Roslyn “Roz” Leon Guerrero was invited to be part of a new cohort project designed to develop leadership skills in community college employees from historically disenfranchised or underrepresented populations.

Leon Guerrero, who identifies as a Chamorro from the Northern Mariana Islands, was one of 20 members of the pilot cohort of the Social Justice Leadership Institute. Members met five times over the course of the 2014-2015 academic year to participate in activities designed to help them grow their leadership skills, develop a systemwide network of colleagues, and learn new tools for supporting diversity at their respective institutions.

“There is so much to share about the growth and development I received from being a part of the SJLI first cohort group,” says Leon Guerrero. “There was a lot of reflection on me personally and professionally. Being able to come together with a group of awesome and inspiring individuals, sharing the same struggles and challenges, and mentoring and empowering each other is uplifting, inspiring, and heartening. If there was one word I could use to describe this experience, it would be ‘blessed.’”

Leon Guerrero, who has worked at Clark College for more than five years both in the Office of Instruction and now in the Office of Diversity and Equity, first heard about the SJLI from psychology professor and early childhood education division chair Debi Jenkins. Moments after Jenkins’s email, she received another from the Office of Instruction asking if she was interested in participating. Just a few weeks later, she was walking into the Whidbey Island Institute to attend a three-day retreat with the rest of her cohort.

The remaining four meetings took place at Bellevue College, which houses the SJLI. Leon Guerrero says that over the course of the year, she learned how to identify and use her personal strengths—a valuable experience. “Being able to focus on myself and understanding myself is important especially in my work in the Office of Diversity and Equity,” says Leon Guerrero, who currently serves as that office’s Administrative Support.

Leon Guerrero says she hopes to create a similar program here at Clark, and hopes other Clark employees will apply for the 2015-2016 cohort of SJLI, applications for which are due August 1. She offers this advice to anyone interested in participating: “Remember to do self-care before SJLI. Always reflect on yourself, and have an open mind . SJLI is not an avenue for you to find someone to take in your stuff; rather, it’s a safe place for historically underrepresented individuals to learn, grow, develop, and reflect on themselves so they can grow and succeed in their position in higher education. Be your authentic self in everything you do. ”

The Teaching and Learning Center was busy during Fall Orientation, helping faculty members prepare for the coming academic year. Below are just a few highlights from the center’s activities in September:

Faculty Focus 2013: More than 200 Clark College educators gathered for Faculty Focus on September 16 and 17 to explore student learning from the perspective of the “Aha Moment.” Day One was held at Clark College at Columbia Tech Center, giving many faculty members a first glimpse at the East County location. Following a welcome address and discussion of the Aha Moment by Vice President of Instruction Tim Cook, nine instructors explained their perspectives on the barriers to student learning as well as how their programs may contribute to student learning. Librarian Kitty Mackey talked about the variety of resources and volume of learning moments in the Libraries; ESL professor Sara Gallow spoke about Fast Track, a career-exploration program for ESL and Basic Ed students; Multicultural Retention Manager Felis Peralta described simple but powerful steps to establish equity and acceptance in the classroom. Automotive Technology professor Mike Godson addressed the teaching-and-learning framework for his department’s program; Kristin Sherwood, Human Development, described First Year Experience and this year’s new College 101 course, which helps students successfully navigate their first year of college. English professor Ray Korpi described the work going on in various learning communities within the college and Spanish professor Erika Nava recounted her year teaching a fully online Spanish class from Mexico. Kathy Chatfield brought the group up to date on the benefits and achievements of those participating in Quality Matters, and Mechatronics professor Chris Lewis spoke about his department’s cohort model. After the morning presentations, the assembled group broke into smaller interdisciplinary cohorts to reflect and share best practices with the goal of engendering student learning.

Day Two began with remarks from President Bob Knight, who then introduced four students who each had a different perspective on their learning experience at Clark. ASCC President Dena Brill described her return to school as an adult learner; Casey Harris spoke of his success in Basic Ed; Lulu Chen talked about the support she receives as an international student navigating unfamiliar customs, cultures, and education systems; and Jordan Robertson shared his experience in the Weekend Degree program. Inspired by the student presentations, faculty then convened with their respective departments to continue their work in outcomes assessment.

New Faculty Retreat: A retreat for new tenure-track and full-time faculty was held at Columbia Tech Center during Fall Orientation Week on September 19 and 20. Representing a wide variety of disciplines, 23 faculty members attended. Modeled after the textbook Teaching At Its Best and facilitated by Outcomes Assessment Liaison Ann Fillmore, the retreat included topics like learning-centered course planning, classroom civility, teaching methodologies, universal design, the interactive classroom and assessing student learning. Presenters included Tiffany Williams, Workforce and Career Pathways; Carole Mackewich, Human Development /Counseling & Health Services; Bevyn Rowland, Human Development /Counseling & Health Services; and Katy Washburne, Adult Basic Education.

New Faculty Orientation: An orientation for faculty new to Clark College was facilitated by Outcomes Assessment Liaison Ann Fillmore on September 13. Twelve new part-time and full-time faculty attended this event, which is held at the beginning of each academic quarter. Everything from Clark policies and resources to parking permits and office keys was covered. Susan Muir from Student Affairs explained the Student Code of Conduct and Behavioral and Threat Assessment (BITA); Mel Favara, English & AEW Faculty Liaison, outlined the Academic Early Warning (AEW) program; and Gracie White, IT Services, provided training on the SMART Classroom podium.

To find out about upcoming training events for faculty, visit the Teaching and Learning Center’s home page.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley