Inclusive Pedagogy Instructional Designers at RTC

Naser(pronounced NA-ser)Chowdhury 

Naser is a full-time faculty in the BAS Application Development program. He states, "One of the teaching philosophies of mine is to create equitable resources, equitable support and an equitable learning environment for my students.

To me the important components of inclusive instructional design are: 1. Addressing Learners variability 2. Reducing the barriers in curriculum and instruction.

Most of our students are job holders. Keeping that in mind, our instructional design should be developed in a way that regardless of students learning capabilities, they have takeaways from every single class, and they are able to learn."

Beatrice Favre

Growing up as the last one of four children and seeing my mom’s path of going to school to become more independent, I quickly understood the importance and power of education. I always loved going to school and looked at my educators, teachers with a different perspective. I was always interested in how teachers share knowledge and guide students. My major interest was always educating young children. That’s why I got my Master’s degree in Child Development and Family Studies in South Korea. Traveling around the world and working with children and families has shaped my passion and motivation. Immigrating to the USA in 2018 and working with adult learners has changed expanded my learning and understanding. Now, my goal is to make knowledge accessible, attractive to all our learners. Learning should be fun!

Kee Whee Ngiam

Kee’s passion lies in People Development, Safety, Pollution Prevention, Customer / User Experience, and Partnership and Collaboration.  He is always looking for opportunities to partner / collaborate with others to create a safe and enjoyable learning environment for learners by focusing on efficient and effective personalized user experience. 

Kee is teaching Construction Management courses and College Success as an adjunct faculty at RTC.  He is a professional engineer in Arkansas, California and Malaysia.  He is also an environmental health and safety compliance professional and holds multiple related certifications.  Kee is an approved trainer for EnviroCert International, Inc. (i.e., an international non-profit stormwater and environmental professional certification organization) and the Washington State Department of Ecology.  He is also an authorized trainer for the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) Outreach General Industry and Construction Industry training courses. 

Kee holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Civil Engineering, and an MBA.

Dawn Allen is a tenured ELA instructor in CCP (College and Career Pathways).

Her educational background includes an MA in TESOL and a certificate in nonprofit leadership and management. When creating curriculum and online content, she also draws heavily on design principles developed through a previous career in architecture. As a graduate student, her work focused on teacher professional development, including developing online content for ELL-U (a project of the Office for Career, Technical, and Adult Education to provide online PD to ESL instructors around the country). She was also a master ESL teacher trainer and the program director of a non-profit specializing in workplace ESL. She is interested in how curriculum and the design of the user experience can support student success online, and in the many possibilities of Flex instruction to make instruction more equitable and accessible. Dawn loves a challenge and is happy to work together to solve problems big or small.

Angela Cross is a new instructor teaching psychology at RTC. She is a working licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) in the state of Washington and a registered yoga teacher. Before coming to RTC she served as an Academic Counselor at the University of Washington for five years where she was also a member of the Adviser Education Programming Board, teaching the quarterly Welcome to UW! New Adviser course. Her time at UW provided Angela with years of experience working within the administrative and faculty sides of Canvas, where she created student handbooks and faculty resources within.

Her educational background consists of an MA in Community Counseling from Gonzaga University, an MA Certificate in Academic Advising from Kansas State University, and a BA in Communication and a BS in Psychology from Washington State University. Her educational philosophy is everyone should have the opportunity to access higher education who want to, and those who have walked that path are endowed with the honor to help those just starting on their academic journeys.

Lea Hoffman writes, "My passion for teaching was first sparked when I took on the role of a mentor to new employees as a medical assistant trainer. This role led me on the path to getting an education, starting at Highline Community College. As a non-traditional student that decided to go back to school when I was older with two children, I value the technical and community college system. Completing my AA degree at a community college set a strong foundation to later complete my bachelor’s in human development. Starting my Master’s in Education at the University of Washington and completing professional development courses such as; Quality Matters, 6 weeks to Retention, Hybrid 101, and Access for All have given me the tools and strategies to be a more effective educator.

I have been teaching full-time in the medical assistant program for six years and have served as the program director for the last three years. Being a teacher is such a privilege and I am so thankful for the opportunity to inspire and empower my students. Teaching also gives me the opportunity to be creative in curriculum development and developing activities and lesson plans that engage a diverse student population."

Melvin Hortman has been teaching mechanical engineering and engineering technology since 2015. He holds a certificate in eLearning Design and Development and much experience hybridizing courses and converting courses to online instruction well before COVID-19. He also holds an M.S. in Engineering Technology, a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology, and has a variety of mechanical and manufacturing engineering experience.

His passions include making education flexible and equitable for all students and eliminating opportunity gaps for so many in engineering. He has focused intensely on redesigning his program and curriculum to eliminate opportunity gaps for minoritized students.

His eLearning Design and Development strengths include hybridizing curriculum, converting in-person instruction into online instruction, developing meaningful remote technical labs and discussions, Canvas Module design, Canvas page design, OER creation, modification, and adoption, video design, outcomes alignment, and implementation of UDL, RA, and accessibility tools.

Leslie Lehnhoff is a proud life-long learner who deeply enjoys sharing her love of learning new things with others. As a result of her love of learning, she has a varied educational background that includes Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Music performance, National Certification as a Certified Clinical Musician, previously Licensed Vocational Nurse, certification as a TESOL instructor, and advanced studies/training in law (Limited License Legal Technician program through UW Law school).

She has eagerly completed Professional Development such as UDL, RA, QM, Access Advocate, Online presence, and others. She has spoken at IBEST and RA conferences on best practices in teaching/learning and Alzheimer's Association national and regional conventions on the power of music in healthcare. She can help you see your course "through the eyes of many different types of students" and make small yet meaningful changes to content, delivery, and flow of your courses.

Warren Takata says, "Student and teacher involvement, acknowledging student life experiences, and a willingness by instructors put down their control, of course, are important components of inclusive pedagogy. These components allow students to feel welcomed, involved and valued. They help students be a part of the learning process which could help to support course engagement, completion, and student success.

My experience in trades and educational theories brings a different perspective to cross-department work. I can see the practical application of general education topics in trade courses. I also recognize the obstacles faced when articulating educational accreditation standards with trade standards. I am willing to work with all faculty and staff to help students to be successful.

I have helped to design instructional lessons for trade courses. Courses that were developed helped to meet national standards for the program. Theory, lab, hybrid, and online modalities have been developed. Bloom’s Taxonomy, student developmental theories, accessibility, cultural diversity, and equity are taken into account when designing instruction. I also have curriculum development experience through my MEd in Curriculum and Instruction."