Professional Development Programs

The Malone Center for Excellence in Teaching sponsors a number of professional development programs designed to support faculty in the use of evidence-based instructional approaches, to promote the integration of innovative instructional technologies, and to foster students’ academic success. Information about these programs can be found below.

Did you miss a workshop that you were interested in? Resources from workshops prior to Spring 2020 can be accessed on the  Past Professional Development Workshops  page. Recordings of and handouts from workshops after Spring 2020 are available in the Malone Center’s  Instructional Resources  Canvas course. If you do not have access to this Canvas course, please  email the Malone Center and request access.

Preparing to Teach Online

The Foundations of Online Instruction training is designed to familiarize instructors with the fundamental principles of quality distance education in order to prepare them for a variety of distance modalities including fully online, hybrid, and hyflex courses.

The training course consists of four instructional modules plus and introduction and wrap-up:

• Module 1: Understanding the Challenge introduces you to the challenges of teaching online in the 21st century and helps you to learn how to write measurable objectives for your online or hybrid course.
• Module 2: Backward Design and the Canvas Environment teaches you how to design a course for results from the desired outcome backwards. This unit also helps you find effective and engaging activities.
• Module 3: The Student Perspective dives a bit deeper into today’s student to help you better understand why your students have chosen online courses.
• Module 4: Choosing Technology walks you through the process of identifying appropriate technology for your course objectives. It also explains your obligations for accessibility in the digital world.

FastTrack

The FastTracl training is designed for instructors who are familiar with online teaching AND who have used Canvas previously.

The training course consists of eight abbreviated modules:

• Module 1: Getting Started walks you through writing effective, measurable objectives.
• Module 2: Online Pedagogy provides a reminder of the concepts of instructional practices for online courses.
• Module 3: The Student Perspective offers a refresher on today’s student  and their motivation.
• Module 4: Technology suggest some best practices for technology use in an online or hybrid course and covers basic accessibility concerns.
• Module 5: Interactivity reminds faculty of the importance of building community in online and hybrid courses.
• Module 6: Development Planning helps you to define measurable objectives for a specific course.
• Module 7: Implementation Strategies helps you to look at implementing an online course.
• Module 8: The Faculty Perspective asks you to craft one module for an existing course that employs these strategies.

If you are planning to teach a distance education course at the University of Montevallo and you have not already completed Foundations of Online Instruction or the previously offered Teaching Effectively Online, you can register for PTTO or FastTrack Instruction through the following link. If you have completed online certification at another institution or through Quality Matters, please talk with your chair to determine if that training fits the needs of your position here at UM.

Faculty Research and Teaching Symposium

During this event, we highlight the accomplishments of UM faculty in teaching and creative endeavors. The day will feature faculty research and teaching innovation presentations as well as a capstone keynote address from the 2026-2027 University Scholar. The event’s schedule will be organized around the University’s class schedule to allow faculty, staff, and students to come and go as needed. Please submit proposals via the link below. For any questions about  the format or available presentation amenities, please see this Information Sheet or you can contact Emily Gill at gille@montevallo.edu.

2026 Faculty Research and Teaching Symposium
TBA
J. A. Brown Room, Carmichael Library