Professional Development Workshops
- Tools:
“I’ve taught for years, but this was the first time I felt truly supported as an instructor. The PD Events made me feel part of a larger teaching community.” ~ Donald B., Instructor, Human Resources Management
“I look forward to these events every quarter. They’re the perfect mix of learning, reflection, and community.” ~ Iris K., Instructor, User Experience Design
Overview
I led the redesign and launch of UCLA Extension’s Professional Development Events (PD Events) Program, an initiative aimed at strengthening faculty support, teaching practice, and cross-disciplinary connection.
Offered quarterly, the program includes webinars, workshops, and instructor-led courses that help instructors deepen their practice and stay current on effective teaching strategies. It also fosters a community of practice, where instructors share experiences, solve challenges, and learn from one another.
Each event cycle is shaped by feedback and participation data to ensure offerings remain relevant and responsive to instructor needs.
Workshop Highlights
Each quarter, a variety of event types and formats are offered and rotated, including:
“Just in Time" Webinars
Format: 30-minute Zoom webinars
Facilitators: Learning Design Team
Quick sessions on teaching tools and micro skills. For busy instructors seeking practical strategies they can apply right away.
Sample Webinars:
• Grading Setup & Tips
• Canvas Collaboration Tools
• Canvas Updates
“Motivate and Engage" Workshops
Format: 60-minute Zoom workshops
Facilitators: Learning Design Team
Interactive workshops on building engagement, boosting collaboration, and creating meaningful learning experiences across formats.
Sample Workshops:
• Sparking Students’ Interest
• Making Zoom Sessions More Interactive
• Creative Student-to-Student Interaction
Instructor-Led Workshops
Format: Online courses + 2-hour live Zoom workshops
Facilitators: UCLA Extension Instructors
Peer-led sessions on collaboration, strategy sharing, and reflective teaching practices to enhance classroom community.
Sample Workshops:
• Planning the Total Course
• Instructor Round Table
My Role
I led this initiative through a combination of strategic leadership, cross-team coordination, targeted communication, and data-informed decision-making.
Project Leadership
- Partnered with Learning Design, Student Services, Marketing, and Solutions teams to relaunch faculty development under a unified, scalable model.
- Secured buy-in across departments and aligned quarterly programming with institutional priorities and instructor needs.
- Championed a “community of practice” model to foster peer learning, storytelling, and shared problem-solving among over 1,200+ active instructors.
- Served as the primary lead for internal and external communications related to the launch of events each quarter.
Project Management
- Developed and operationalized a four-sprint planning model with templates that reduced PD event planning time by over 40%.
- Managed 4-5 events per quarter across instructional topics such as Canvas tools, grading, student engagement, and live teaching techniques.
- Documented the entire coordination process in an internal Knowledge Base, creating the first centralized PD Events playbook.
Marketing Strategy
- Hard coded 6 branded email blast templates using HTML and CSS in Constant Contact to support quarterly PD event outreach, increasing open rates to over 60% and click-through rates to ~40%.
- Led targeted email campaigns to new and veteran instructors each quarter.
- Established a consistent marketing cadence aligned with instructional calendars to optimize visibility and registrations.
Data Analytics
- Benchmarked peer institutions’ PD offerings (e.g., UCLA, UCSD, Stanford Continuing Studies) to identify popular formats, days, and content gaps.
- Built a GSheets dashboard to track instructor engagement across four years of data, analyzing:
- Email sign-up conversion
- Registration-to-attendance drop-off
- Asynchronous participation
- Department-level participation trends
- Designed and distributed pre and post-event surveys, achieving a 68% response rate and uncovering key themes around instructor needs and satisfaction.
- Used data insights to adjust scheduling and content focus.
The Process
The design of the new PD Events Program was guided by a structured, data-driven approach focused on instructor needs, operational efficiency, and scalable growth.
Phase 1: Discovery and Audit
- Conducted a full audit of the retired IDP coordination process, mapping every pain point and inefficiency.
- Partnered with Student Services, Learning Support, and Solutions teams to gather input on operational bottlenecks and instructor challenges.
- Researched faculty development programs across peer institutions to benchmark effective practices, event formats, and engagement strategies.
- Collected two years of historical IDP data to identify trends in sign-ups, attendance, and instructor engagement.
Phase 2: Systems Redesign
- Developed a centralized coordination system with automation workflows (e.g., streamlined sign-up and onboarding processes) that cut coordination time from 4 weeks to 8 hours per quarter.
- Designed a 4-sprint planning framework for quarterly PD event creation, including scheduling, content development, marketing, and feedback loops.
- Created the first Knowledge Base documentation to capture and standardize the new PD coordination process for future scalability.
Phase 3: Workshop Design, Development, and Launch
- Led the Learning Design team in developing two new event series tailored to instructors’ time constraints and teaching needs: “Just in Time" webinars and “Motivate and Engage" workshops.
- Collaborated with IDs to develop networking opportunities within events to strengthen peer-to-peer engagement and cross-discipline dialogue.
- Supported instructor-led live sessions (i.e., Planning the Total Course) when possible.
Phase 4: Data-Driven Continuous Improvement
- Launched ongoing data collection on event registrations, attendance, and satisfaction rates to refine event topics and delivery formats.
- Leveraged analytics from email campaigns and surveys to identify trends and improve quarterly event scheduling.
- Adjusted event offerings based on qualitative feedback (e.g., requests for more Canvas tool tips and interactive strategies).
- Built a feedback cycle into each sprint, allowing rapid iteration of content and marketing approaches for future events.
Community of Practice Thread
Across all phases, we framed PD Events as more than training. Each session created space for instructors to exchange stories, troubleshoot challenges, and build professional connections. This community focus now drives repeat attendance and instructor-led contributions to future events.
Samples
Explore samples from the initiative below.
