Feb 13 2008 Meeting

We just had a superb meeting! Our outcomes was to continue from our December 7th 2007 meeting where we began brainstorming strategies to support the aims of the Institute for Leadership in Learning and Teaching.

The most exciting potential project we discussed? It was a campaign to launch the Institute based on an issue that can truly surprise, inspire, and sustain us. This campaign might be called "Project First Week."

"Project First Week" is all about providing instructors with a wonderful set of tools, ideas, and strategies to help make the first week of classes welcoming, exciting, engaging, and meaningful. Here are some of the ideas we kicked around:

1. Providing a binder and online resources cataloguing all the wonderful activities and ideas we are already providing students in the first week. Perhaps in the spring of 2008 we can launch a request for all the best practices used by instructors and staff in that all important first week of classes. Prizes?

2. Providing a resource of video clips, blogs, lesson plans, and newsletters to showcase all our great home grown Okanagan College ideas so that we can share with eachother all the ways we can help make students understand the expectations of college life--both academically and culturally.

3. Providing a workshop during Next Steps 2008 and perhaps a small course designed for instructional staff on how to make the best of the first week of classes. Topics covered might include how to present your course outline, fun ice-breaker activities, ways to build a learning community, and strategies to help student develop positive relationships.

4. The first week of classes are also an opportunity for us to begin building and strengthening a learning community around learning and teaching. Ideas for discussion include a mentoring program, an online lesson plan swapping service, and a guest lecture registry.

We talked about so many exciting and inspiring potential activities. Thanks so much to the committee members!