The Planning Instructional Variety for Online Teaching (PIVOT) group project was selected to receive the spring 2021 Job Well Done Award.

In spring 2020, UMBC announced a transition from mostly face-to-face and some hybrid/online course delivery to campus-wide remote instruction in response to COVID-19. The Planning Instructional Variety for Online Teaching (PIVOT) program was grounded in the evidence-based, course design principles from Quality Matters for how people learn and shared many of the best practices of teaching in face-to-face classrooms, but leveraged those principles and adapted the practices to the online environment. The program involved a cross-unit collaboration between DoIT’s Instructional Technology team and three Colleges involving twenty-five (25) faculty peer mentors supporting their colleagues over the course of the program itself and into the semester’s instruction.

Delivered in multiple pathways to support faculty schedules and preferred training formats, the PIVOT program benefited both faculty and students:

• Nearly 85% of PIVOT+ faculty participants said the program was helpful for their pedagogical shift to online teaching.
• More than 85% of PIVOT+ students said they agreed or strongly agreed that PIVOT+ courses flowed in a logical format.
• Faculty who completed PIVOT+ or participated in PIVOT Live are more likely to be open to alternative course delivery formats in Fall 2021.

The Department of Human Resources would like to congratulate the group on receiving this honor.   The members of the group will receive a celebratory lunch at the Skylight Lounge (postponed until a later date), a certificate, and an invitation to the annual Service Awards Ceremony.  In addition, the group project will be added to the Job Well Done Award plaque located in the Department of Human Resources.