Instructional Designer (Full-time Continuing) Student Affairs Position Description General Overview Reporting to the Manager, Student Success Services, the Instructional Designer is responsible for developing, maintaining and evaluating a variety of online and blended modules or programming and instructional resources under the auspices of Student Success Services (formerly Writing and Learning. Services). Using various instructional methodologies and related technologies, he or she will curate existing resources or create new resources for the university-wide student population. Topics covered will be broad but will primarily be in the areas of study and time management strategies, adjusting to post-secondary life, and academic writing and communication skis. Delivery of programs, services, and resources may be in-person, blended or online, using institutional systems such as Blackboard. The Instructional Designer will have demonstrated expertise in academic success literacy—using individual strengths as a learner, building resiliency, studying, and critical evaluation, as well as the core academic skills of writing and reading. The incumbent will help develop and deliver a student peer tutor training program grounded in the development of those student success literacy skills. The Instructional Designer will offer ongoing mentorship to peer tutors, providing constructive feedback and ‘encouragement to peer tutors so they have the skills to work one-on-one or with groups of students. Where needed, the instructional Designer will provide direct services to students in the Writing Centre in the areas of study skills and writing strategies development. ‘The Instructional Designer will make recommendations to the Manager, Student Success Services to improve service quality. The Instructional Designer will also contribute creatively to the planning and development of meaningful learning experiences and programs for students. This position works in a collaborative and supportive role with other units in Student Affairs, CAFI OCM, ITS, the Library, SAMU, and the academic houses. It wll be necessary for the incumbent to become a subject matter expert (SME) in the university's eLearning Blackboard system and in academic success instruction. Developing a role-specified competence in MacEwan Works and other emerging platforms or technologies will be expected as needed, This position will also play a key role in the collection and interpretation of metrics that demonstrate the effectiveness of the unit's programs and services. Major Duties and Accountabilities |. Co-develop and deliver training curriculum to build the professionalism and confidence of peer ‘tutors in working with other students. Mentoring and evaluating the progress of student peer tutors throughout the academic year (50%) ~ Help research and create current best-practice programming to train peer tutors. Topics may include ‘mapping outcomes for training, listing and explanation of key strategies, setting boundaries and working safely, deferring to conduct and applicable key policies, ideas for tutor activities with peers and how to engage diverse learning styles, how to be culturally sensitive, curating and creating using ananticipatory design lens, using learner strengths and building self-reflection skills, and supporting service evaluation for quality improvement, ~ Help recruit, vet and coordinate new student tutors. + Train student tutors and other volunteers to tutor - Provide ongoing mentorship, constructive feedback, and support to peer and volunteer tutors ~ Provide direct service to students in the areas of writing and study skills development when necessary Orient student tutors, faculty-in-service or retiree/alumni volunteers to the Writing Centre and its resources. ~ Coordinate the scheduling of drop-in-sessionsin which student tutors and others will provide support to students - Provide opportunities for peer tutors to participate in workshop planning and delivery ~ Develop and offer emergent innovative educational experiences involving social media Ul, Curate existing internal and external educational resources and create new resources to support ‘and build university literacy skills, knowledge and attitudes for student success (30%) ~ Work with the Manager and colleagues to develop an annual plan for resource curation and development ~ Locate, organize and critique resources for quality, accessibility, applicability, compatibility, security, cost, technology requirements, documentation, and licensing ~ Help develop an annual. promotional plan with the Manager Create oF modify resources and learning modules as needed - Work collaboratively with colleagues in other units of Student Affairs to share content, standard business approaches, creative and original ideas, so we can raise the quality and responsiveness of all our learning experiences and resources for students Metrics and Accountability (10%) - Work with the Manager to establish expected learning outcomes for peer tutors. -Map the outcomes to a Co-curricular record. This position will validate student tutors for CCR recognition. ~ Assess and analyze activities for achievement of expected learning outcomes (pre-and post- assessment, gap identification) - Under supervision of the Manager, identify, prioritize, and help develop collaborative action plans and responses to department and institution-wide projects, goals, and strategies, including the Institutional Strategic Plan and pillars ~ Design, execute, and report on usability testing of new or updated technologies or modules ~ Prepare reports on service usage and user demographics - Identify student, tutor, and program needs and recommend responsive action to the Manager ~ Where assigned by the Manager, create and manage communication regarding new initiatives or business process changes Participate in professional development and communities of practice to ensure awareness of sector standards, trends, and best practices in order to strengthen organizational and technical knowledge Handle annual review, configuration and testing for various student resource modulesEnsure that al related business documentation and training materials are regularly updated, maintained, and stored IV. Data Clean-up, Security and Other Troubleshooting Support (5%) - Ensure relevant data integrity by using ad hoc or query reports, developed in partnership with Student Affairs’ Student Tech I, to aid in necessary file clean-up ~ Help manage and troubleshoot virtual help resources for student tutors or student/clients, redirecting ‘major system issues according to the approved escalation protocol - Help ensure that virtual support services meet security access expectations and are compliant with PIPA and other appropriate policy Help maintain testing files for each module or service so that problems and solutions can be noted Provide end-user support for student tutors by helping to troubleshoot business process and basic system navigation issues and provide assistance in person or via phone, email, or videoconferencing - Help create or maintain supporting documents related to Student Affairs websites, Blackboard modules, training videos, MacEwan Works etc, + Help identify and support problem solving and resolution for defects or other technology or resource failures in relation to our required business processes V. Other Duties as Required (5%) ~ Stay current in designated communities of practice as directed by the Manager - Participate in unit and divisional meetings and training as required