Festival of Learning 2018

Faculty of Education at UBC has been present in the online educational spaces for almost two decades. The University of British Columbia’s push for flexible learning initiatives in 2014 resulted in the creation of a few MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), one of them being designed in the Faculty of Education. Reconciliation through Indigenous Education was offered for the first time in 2015 and just had its fifth iteration.

Two years later, the general public was provided with another opportunity to learn, as we launched Bringing Mental Health to Schools this October. In both cases the target audience are in-service teachers, lacking deeper knowledge, guidance and strategies to deal with sensitive subjects. The choice of topics suggests that the Faculty of Education is taking a route of “educating the masses” by contributing to personal growth and nurturing human relations, thus taking part in shaping a better world for the humanity as a whole.

When we have such a noble goal, what is the expected outcome and how massive is massive enough? Transformative education takes time and personal effort, but is the one that makes a difference. Is that the reason why Faculty of Education at UBC has managed to break the usual stats related to MOOCs, such as the percent of verified participants, and the completion rate?
What are the factors that contribute to the success of these new professional development opportunities?

In this presentation we will have the opportunity to look at UBC’s experiences with these courses, but also engage in a larger dialogue about learners and course design, through small group discussions, pair-share.