A GEM of an Idea: Microlearning and Faculty Development

Abstract

Like students, online faculty require flexibility in development. Microlearning approaches especially highlight flexibility (Micro-credentials and Digital Badges, 2019). One microlearning program that PG faculty consistently find useful is Great Emerging Methods (GEMS), developed by the late Ellen Manning. Offered through the Center for Teaching and Learning, each GEMS session covers 2-4 teaching strategies. Recent sessions focused on best practices in seminar and strategies for engaging students. A committee from across PG establishes goals for each session, a best practice in microlearning (Cheng, Watson, and Newby, 2018.) They recruit faculty and other PG employees to share their methods. Called Gemologists, hosts and presenters focus on immediately applicable ideas, a hallmark of effective micro-learning for faculty development (Dyjur and Lindstrom, 2017). A digital archive now expands the reach of GEMS to an asynchronous audience. The presentation will explore the history of GEMs, describe how sessions work, and demonstrate how they exemplify the concept of microlearning.

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