As a result of a 2019-2020 EXL/ITL Faculty Fellowship, Dr. Adel Alhalawani, a UA biomedical engineering professor, received a certification that will allow him to teach a special workshop for educators. The workshop, called the Instructional Skills Workshop, is designed for anyone involved with teaching, including instructional staff, librarians, teaching assistants, graduate assistants and post-docs.
“We can always do better, be better,” says Dr. Alhalawani. “This workshop will provide educators with feedback on how to improve their teaching methods and ultimately, make it easier for students to learn.”
During the three-day workshop starting in May, participants will design and conduct three “mini-lessons”, receive video, verbal and written feedback from Dr. Alhalawani and the other participants. By the time the workshop is complete, participants will be able to design organized lessons, employ active learning strategies that align with learning outcomes, and apply classroom assessment techniques to determine the effectiveness of the teaching methods, and whether or not students learned what they were taught.
Dr. Alhalawani is a Clark Kent of sorts, teaching undergraduate engineering students in the cellular and material aspects of the human body while in the next moment donning his cape to transform into an “educator of educators” to help his peers become stronger and more effective at their jobs.
“For me, there is a clear link between biomedical engineering and instructional design. While two totally different fields, both are rooted in improving human potential,” says Dr. Alhalawani.
His previous experience includes participating in the University Teaching Development Program at Ryerson University as well as the Educational Developers Association’s Instructional Skills and Facilitator Development Workshop in Canada.
The University of Akron Instructional Skills Workshop is free to UA educators. Registration will be available on UA’s Institute for Teaching and Learning website.