Langenau and Shultis to Present at National Conference

July 21, 2020

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine will be showcased at the US Distance Learning Association’s national conference this Thursday, July 24, when leadership from the PCOM Professional Development and Online Learning Department share how a “crash course” was developed to introduce faculty members to online learning.

Solution to bridging the training gap

Erik Langenau, DO, MS, director and chief academic technology officer, based in Philadelphia, and Brooke Shultis, MEd, assistant director, based in Suwanee, both with the PCOM Department of Professional Development and Online Learning, will present an “Online Method to Introduce Classroom-based Faculty to 21st Century Learning”.

During the virtual presentation, Langenau and Shultis will discuss their department’s solution to bridging the training gap - a four-week, asynchronous, facilitated online faculty-development program called “Crash Course: Engaging Today’s Learner.”

Faculty discover best practices in online learning

The program demonstrates how online learning can be “engaging, active and effective,” according to Langenau, who added, “This was particularly helpful, especially for faculty members who traditionally teach in large classroom settings with lectures.”

Shultis noted that the course helped faculty members pivot more easily to an online learning environment due to the COVID-19 induced transition to a virtual setting. She said, “When we did this crash course, we did not expect COVID-19 to hit and over a weekend go from brick and mortar, face-to-face to strictly virtual online learning. So that wasn’t in our plan. I feel like because of this crash course that we gave, and the amount of faculty who did attend it, we were above the curve” in online learning.

She added, “We had faculty who were now experienced in how to be a learner in online learning. That allowed them to create courses with the learner in mind. They could use their own experiences to help adjust what they were doing.”

Deeper learning through virtual workshops and projects

Dr. Langenau explained, “Tradition and accreditation standards perpetuate face-to-face instruction, but the trend is turning away from traditional lecture-based formats to active learning in the classroom. Instructors are encouraged to develop and facilitate workshops, application exercises and group projects. Because faculty are looking to find more time for these activities which promote deeper learning, they are turning toward many of the strategies traditionally used for online learning.”

Over the past year, the Department of Professional Development and Online Learning developed and hosted more than 40 faculty development programs in which faculty and staff learned from each other through a variety of e-Learning activities, such as reviewing video presentations and articles, engaging in discussion boards and blogs, and reflecting on experiences. In addition, according to Shultis, participants explored PCOM’s educational resources, dabbled in a variety of e-Learning technologies, and shared ideas with one another.

The USDLA presentation will take place at 2 p.m. on July 24. Attendees may register for the virtual conference at usdla.org. For highlights of the presentation, listen to the USDLA podcast.

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