CSU Digital Ambassadors: An Empowering and Impactful Faculty Learning Community

Abstract

This article chronicles the work of the California State University Digital Ambassador Program (DA), a Faculty Learning Community (FLC), which brought together 13 faculty members across the state to create ongoing, targeted spaces of support for colleagues and educational partners to learn about innovative technological and pedagogical practices on their respective campuses. Three different faculty development activities within teacher education are analyzed: (a) a faculty study hall model, (b) preservice classroom activities, and (c) large-scale professional development activities. As a capacity development model, the DA program and its projects promote experimentation, collaboration, mentorship, and professional self-renewal among faculty and influence credential classrooms and clinical practice.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Daniel Soodjinda

Daniel Soodjinda is currently an assistant professor of liberal studies and teacher education at California State University (CSU), Stanislaus.  He uses the lens of equity and social justice to teach graduate and undergraduate students in educational foundations, curriculum development, instructional technology, and educational policy.  More recently, Dr. Soodjinda was also appointed as a CSU Digital Ambassador, a position that is charged with supporting faculty and teacher candidates in utilizing online and computer-based resources to support enriched blended learning experiences.  His Twitter handle is @TheTeacherProf. Please address correspondence to Daniel Soodjinda, Department of Liberal Studies, California State University Stanislaus, 1 University Circle, DBH-344, Turlock, CA 95382, USA. E-mail: [email protected]

Jessica K. Parker

Jessica K. Parker is an associate professor in the Curriculum Studies and Secondary Education department in the School of Education at Sonoma State University. She is the author of Teaching Tech-Savvy Kids: Bringing Digital Media into the Classroom, and has been recognized by the California State University (CSU) system for producing exemplary hybrid and online courses. She is the 2014 recipient of the Sony Electronics Faculty Award for Innovative Instruction with Technology. Dr. Parker completed her undergraduate and graduate work at the University of California, Berkeley; she has a BA in media studies and an MA and a PhD in education. Her Twitter handle is @JessicaKParker.

Donna L. Ross

Donna L. Ross is an associate professor of science education at San Diego State University.  She teaches science courses for current and future teachers, and runs after-school science clubs and science summer camps for local children. Her research interests include the teaching and learning of science and engineering.  She is a former K–12 teacher and biologist. Her Twitter handle is @RossSDSU.

Elizabeth J. Meyer

Elizabeth J. Meyer is an assistant professor in the School of Education at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. She is the author of Gender, Bullying, and Harassment: Strategies to End Sexism and Homophobia in Schools and Gender and Sexual Diversity in Schools.  She is a former high school teacher and completed her MA at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and her PhD at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She blogs for Psychology Today and can be followed on Twitter at @lizjmeyer.