Recent history

John reported that there had been significant changes at the Midland campus as a result of the LBS reform. He indicated that there was more paperwork than there used to be and that teachers have had to become more than just teachers. John also reported that the office had moved to a smaller space.

Best Practices and resources

John described the introduction of the LBS Steering Committee, which is made up of between eight and ten people. The committee meets every two months, and all Georgian College LBS instructors are invited to attend. The goals of the Steering Committee are:

• To facilitate communication among LBS delivery sites.
• To share workload and to avoid duplication of effort.
• To share information and knowledge regarding implementation of LBS Program Reform.

John indicated that the best practice has been for Georgian College LBS instructors but that it could be transferable to other sectors.

John reported that the Steering Committee has been useful to practitioners and administrators because it allows them to brainstorm ideas at a college — not just campus — level.

Based on a success scale of 1 to 5, John rated it a 3.5. He also thought that the Committee could be improved in the following three ways:

1. There needs to be more time — or people with more time — to incorporate some of the ideas.
2. Once the steering committee gains more acceptance, then more of the ideas generated may be incorporated by instructors at different campuses.
3. There is also a need for additional funds to implement some of the ideas.

John reported a second best practice that the College had implemented in 1999/2000. Although there was not an official title for it, John referred to it as two roving consultants. Two LBS teachers within the College were seconded to travel to the different sites and help other practitioners better understand how to implement training plans. The managers would arrange one-to-one sessions with staff based on request (therefore it was voluntary).

John reported that, on a scale of 1 to 5, this initiative was only a 2 (fair). He said that some campuses were not really interested, and many people did not buy into the idea.

John provided three recommendations for improving the practice, if it were to run again or be replicated:

1. The process could be better organized than it was. The steering committee would be a good base for making sure it's organized and for helping to increase buy-in.
2. The individuals acting as the consultants need clear direction about what it is they hope to achieve with the other teachers.