Pathways into educational development are highly varied and often serendipitous (McDonald, 2010). As educational developers, we have diverse titles, roles, and responsibilities, and over time we shift from “new developers” to “experienced developers” (Sorcinelli & Austin, 2010). Career progress is often described as moving from entry-level, to senior, to director of a teaching and learning centre (Dawson, Britnell, & Hitchcock, 2010) and witnessed in shifts to faculty, administrative, or specialist roles. These career paths offer existing maps; however, for new or varied career routes, how do individuals identify what mountaintops to pursue next, what trails to follow, or when to forge new ones? What literature can we draw on when deciding? What signposts suggest that we are developing as developers? How might we plan for, conceive of, and experience career success? This session is for questioners, whether new or experienced travellers in educational development. Through group discussion and some guided individual reflection, we will explore diverse strategies for (re)defining routes and goals for career progression and success. Learning outcomes include:
• identifying experiences and ideas that have disrupted assumed paths and opened up new possibilities for careers;
• articulating how we are (re)imagining possibilities for career progression;
• identifying resources that may inform future exploration; and
• identifying possible next steps in achieving harmony and integration between values and career design.
This session is informed by literature on orientations (Land, 2001), threshold concepts in the careers of educational developers (Timmermans, 2014), and insights on academic culture (Sorcinelli & Austin, 2010).
References:
Dawson, D., Britnell, J., & Hitchcock, A. (2010). Developing competency models of faculty developers: Using World Café to foster dialogue. In L. B. Nilson & J. E. Miller (Eds.), To Improve the Academy: Resources for faculty, instructional, and organizational development, Volume 28 (pp. 3-24). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
McDonald, J. (2010). Charting pathways into the field of educational development. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Issue 122, 37-45. doi:10.1002/tl.396
Sorcinelli, M. D., & Austin, A. E. (2010). Educational developers: The multiple structures and influences that support our work. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Issue 122, 25-36. doi:10.1002/tl.395
Timmermans, J. (2014). Identifying threshold concepts in the careers of educational developers. International Journal for Academic Development, 19, 305-317. doi:10.1080/1360144X.2014.895731
