Personal Learning Plan 2026-2027

This post outlines my personal learning plan. This plan is designed to prepare me for success in leadership roles in teaching, learning, and faculty development by focusing on three priority areas: faculty development leadership, AI-enabled instructional technology, and faculty community engagement. The goals in this plan will follow the SMART criteria, meaning they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, so that progress can be clearly monitored and evaluated. This approach is grounded in the widely used management framework introduced by Doran (1981), which emphasizes writing goals that are practical, focused, and actionable. By structuring my learning in this way, I can connect professional growth directly to observable outcomes such as completed programming, functional tools, and increased faculty participation. This plan will also help ensure that my development remains aligned with institutional priorities and supports future leadership responsibilities.

Goal 1: Faculty Development Framework

By the end of the 2026-2027 academic year, I will establish and implement a CTL faculty development framework aligned with institutional goals, with success measured by completed programming, documented participation, and positive faculty evaluation data.

This goal focuses on building the leadership capacity I will need to guide faculty development in ways that are aligned with the institution's strategic goals and teaching needs. A strong framework will provide structured programming, measurable participation, and ongoing evaluation, all of which are central to a Center for Teaching and Learning. This goal is specific because it centers on creating and implementing a faculty development framework, measurable because success is tied to programming completion, attendance records, and positive evaluation data, achievable because it builds on existing instructional technology and professional development experience, relevant because faculty development is a core leadership responsibility, and time-bound because it is set within the first year.

Key evidence of completion will include a written framework, a completed cycle of CTL programming, participation records, and faculty feedback results from surveys or evaluations. The timeline for this goal will be a framework drafted in the first quarter, programming launched by midyear, and evaluation data reviewed by the end of the first year.

Resources and Tasks

LinkedIn Learning’s Build Your Skills as an Instructional Designer learning path (Build Your Skills as an Instructional Designer Learning Path | LinkedIn Learning, Formerly Lynda.com, n.d.) will support this goal by strengthening core competencies in instructional design, learner experience, and measuring learning success. LinkedIn Learning’s Creating a Leadership Development Program (Creating a Leadership Development Program Online Class | LinkedIn Learning, Formerly Lynda.com, 2017) course is also a strong fit because it focuses on designing and implementing a high-impact development program, researching organizational needs, selecting learning supports, and measuring return on investment. Additional support can come from Faculty Focus and Magna Publications (Magna Publications, 2025), which offer practical higher education teaching and faculty development resources that can inform CTL programming design.

Tasks I will complete for this goal include finishing selected LinkedIn Learning coursework in instructional design and leadership development, reviewing higher education faculty development resources, identifying institutional priorities that should shape CTL programming, and drafting a faculty development framework organized around clear themes, audiences, and outcomes. Additional tasks include selecting proposed workshop or resource topics, identifying how participation and feedback will be documented, and preparing a simple process for evaluating the first cycle of programming.

Goal 2: AI-Enabled Tool Development

By the end of the 2026-2027 academic year, I will develop AI-enabled instructional technology skills and apply them to create at least one functional faculty-facing tool and one additional prototype, with success measured by completed deliverables that are ready for piloting or demonstration.

Goal 2 focuses on developing applied AI skills for the purpose of creating practical digital tools for faculty and exploring longer-term opportunities for institutional innovation. The goal is specific because it targets both skill development for tool creation, measurable because success is defined by completing training and producing two working deliverables, achievable because it extends existing experience with accessibility automation and dashboard development, relevant because AI inclusion is becoming increasingly demanded in the teaching and learning process, and time-bound because the work is to be completed within the first year. This goal supports movement from AI awareness to AI-enabled product development, which can strengthen both institutional impact and long-term professional value.

Evidence of goal 2 attainment includes completion of selected AI training, a working faculty-facing tool, and a second prototype that can be demonstrated internally or considered for pilot use. The foundational training will be completed in the first half of the year, the first tool will be developed by the third quarter, and the second prototype will be completed by the end of the academic year.

Resources and Tasks

Microsoft Learn’s AI for Educators (Pmcgahey, n.d.) training will provide a practical foundation for understanding how AI can support teaching, learning, and productivity in educational settings. Microsoft's free course for educators will add a hands-on and responsible-use perspective that can support experimentation with AI in faculty-facing contexts. To deepen technical understanding, MIT OpenCourseWare resources such as AI 101, Artificial Intelligence (AI 101 | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | MIT OpenCourseWare, n.d.), and Introduction to Machine Learning can support the development of more advanced knowledge for tool building and prototyping. LinkedIn Learning’s AI-Enhanced Leadership Development and Self-Coaching for Managers (AI-Enhanced Leadership Development and Self-Coaching for Managers Online Class | LinkedIn Learning, Formerly Lynda.com, 2025) can also serve as a supplemental resource by helping connect AI use to leadership practice and strategic decision-making.

Tasks for this goal include completing foundational AI training, identifying one or more recurring faculty workflow challenges that could be improved through a custom tool, and experimenting with AI-assisted development environments such as Claude Code (Claude Code by Anthropic | AI Coding Agent, Terminal, IDE, n.d.) to generate functional prototypes. Additional tasks include building at least one faculty-facing tool, developing a second prototype with possible broader institutional value, and documenting whether each deliverable is ready for demonstration, piloting, or refinement.

Goal 3: CTL Community Growth

By the end of the 2026-2027 academic year, I will grow participation in the CTL Viva Engage community, with success measured by increased membership, more frequent contributions, and sustained engagement from faculty across the year.

Goal 3 focuses on building a more active digital faculty community through Microsoft's Viva Engage. The goal is specific because it targets participation in a private Viva Engage CTL community, measurable because success is tied to membership, posting frequency, and recurring engagement, achievable because it can be advanced through deliberate community design and facilitation, relevant because faculty engagement is essential to sustainable professional learning, and time-bound because progress is expected across the first year with term-based review points. This goal also supports leadership growth by strengthening digital community-building, communication, and engagement strategy.

Evidence that goal 3 has been completed includes membership growth, posting and reply activity, and visible recurring engagement across academic terms. The timeline for goal 3 includes a baseline gathered at the start of the academic year, engagement strategies implemented throughout the year, and snapshots of progress reviewed each term with an end-of-year summary.

Resources and Tasks

Microsoft’s Viva Engage Adoption resources (Fleck & Fleck, 2026) will serve as the primary support for this goal because they focus directly on adoption, community structure, engagement strategy, and community management. Microsoft’s Viva Engage masterclass (Microsoft Corporation LLC, 2026) and support documentation will help strengthen understanding of moderation, organization, announcements, polls, and other features that can support a more active faculty community. LinkedIn Learning’s Getting Started with Microsoft 365 Viva Engage course (Getting Started With Microsoft 365 Viva Engage Online Class | LinkedIn Learning, Formerly Lynda.com, 2025) is also a strong fit because it addresses creating and managing posts, communities, announcements, polls, questions, and analytics for measuring engagement. Broader LinkedIn Learning content in leadership, training, and management can further support the communication and facilitation skills needed to sustain faculty participation over time.

Tasks for this goal include establishing a baseline for community membership and activity, reviewing how Viva Engage features can be used to support faculty interaction, and identifying the kinds of posts, prompts, and resources most likely to encourage sustained participation. Additional tasks include planning a regular posting rhythm, creating engagement opportunities such as announcements, questions, or polls, and reviewing membership and interaction patterns at regular intervals across the year.

Conclusion

This plan will be implemented gradually, across twelve months. Each goal will be integrated into ongoing professional responsibilities rather than treated as a separate activity. The faculty development goal should be addressed through regular planning, delivery, and review cycles. The AI goal should be supported through scheduled learning and prototype development time. The Viva Engage goal should be advanced through recurring communication and community facilitation. Progress can be reviewed at the midpoint and end of each academic term so that adjustments can be made before the end of the year.

Useful strategies include breaking each goal into short-term milestones, keeping records of completed training and deliverables, and connecting each activity to a practical outcome such as a program, a tool, or an engaged faculty community. My motivation can be sustained by treating the plan as both professional development and leadership preparation, since each completed milestone builds evidence of readiness for broader institutional responsibility. A final end-of-year review can serve as both an accountability point and a way to document how the plan contributed to measurable growth.