Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

About me

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt currently serves as the Vice President of Academic Affairs for the College of Health Care Professions based in Houston, Texas. Prior to this post he worked as an e-Learning consultant for companies across the USA. His primary research focus over the past four years has been the development of online learning Engagement Metrics. Dr. Vaillancourt’s 27 years of service in education includes multiple levels of experience in both private and public educational institutions. His professional positions include Online Campus President for Virginia College, National Dean of ITT's Online Division, Director of Education for Ultimate Medical Academy, President of a two-campus allied health college in Utah, Certified Cisco Academy Instructor, Master Certified Novell Instructor, and K-12 public school science teacher.

Dr. Vaillancourt’s BS and MS in Education were earned from Samford University in 1983 and 1989, respectively. He completed his Ed.D. in Instructional Technology and Distance Education from Nova Southeastern University in May 2004. Dr. Vaillancourt designed, founded and chaired the non-profit National Math Bee (2006-2011), which provided an online learning community for over 15,000 elementary school mathematics students in 37 states across the country.  He was a US Army soldier prior to his career in education.

Activity

If an online student does not respond to your offers to help; as an online Instructor, there is very little more you can do. Do you agree or disagree? Explain your answer.
One of the greatest challenges I have found in facilitating discussions is that many learners simply post the minimum requirements and once they have met the expectations of the discussion, they disengage and don't bother to come back into the discussion to extend the dialog on the topic. What will be your role in discussions? How will you encourage substantive participation? What strategies will you use to extend learner’s thinking and keep the discussion focused on the intended outcomes?
Online learning will eventually replace traditional classroom delivery of instruction? Do you agree or disagree? Explain your answer.
Instructor interaction in an online learning environment is very different from the traditional learning environment. Traditionally, the major interaction that an instructor has with learners is through the transmission of content via lecture. In an online learning environment, the delivery of course content is not the instructor's primary activity, so you will need to be able to transition from being the "sage on the stage" to the "guide on the side." What do you feel will be your biggest challenge in transitioning to a "guide on the side"?
What is an optimal online student-instructor ratio? Justify your answer.
An issue that I have found in teaching online is learners who have different expectations for the online course and instructor. To keep learners from becoming frustrated with their expectations not being met, we have created a faculty expectation statement that all faculty post at the beginning of the ocurse to ensure that learners understand what they can expect from the course and the instructor. What do you feel are important elements of a faculty expectations statement that can help set the appropriate expectations for learners in your online course?
What are some ways you can support the development of problem solving skills in your students?
What are some ways you can facilitate the development of analytical skills in your students?
What is your definition of intelligence in relation to your career area?
What are some of the benefits of reflective thinking in relation to problem solving?

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