Kelli Lycke
I believe that collaboration with others is the most effective way to improve a learning experience. Because of this, I make a commitment to planning courses as a team and tracking assessmement data as we make curriculuar changes. Even though instructors, designers, and project managers in a team have different policies and beliefs about learning, we must understand the value of bringing different teaching styles together and celebrate what each person brings to the team. This collaboration not only makes our learning content better; we can help professionalize each other as we learn from one another. With my background in secondary and higher-education, I understand a variety of ways to assess learning & engagment including formative assessment, summative assessment, data-tracking, self-assessment, labor-based assessment, and a preponderance of evidence.
I also take pride in creating community in the courses I develop. I place a high value on making sure the students know each other’s names, and the instructor or facilitator has the opportunity to get to know them as well. I believe students learn best in supportive and safe communities, so I strive to create the kind of environment where students rely on each other as their most valuable resources. Courses best create community by leveraging a variety of teaching modalities. I believe it is important for instructors to position themselves as leaders in a course, but they should also create activities that allow students to feel like the authority of the course. This creates more diverse and equitable learning environments for everyone.