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

francis, Providing thbis support would be beneficial to most students. Thank you for sharing. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Debra, Yes, the instructor must have a 'buy in' or the students will suffer. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Russell, Student confidence in the capability and availability of the instructor is critical to success. Thanks for your contribution. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Russell, Yes, a comprhensive analysis by the institution concerning their own courses would be ideal. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
francis, Letting the student know the teacher is there to assist is an important role. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Dennis, These are excellent takeaways. Thank you for sharing. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Joseph, Your observations are very thought provoking and valid. Thank you for sharing your insights. I would venture to say that there are many kinds of training and education. Some have specific and direct objectives of Critical Thinking and others are are less direct, while others are designed for providing information and reflection. The role of assessment is to determine if the objectives have been attained. However, critical thinking may not be one of the objects within a specific. The objectives for any one course may include only some of the components of critical thinking that will later be used… >>>

Shawn, This can be very frustrating. What aspects of your work environment would assist you in requiring a 'checkpoint' for the needed detail? Thanks for sharing. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Rick, Well stated. Yes, there are many components to consider. Thank you for sharing your insights. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Appropriate limitations for ‘catching up’

What should be the determining factors?

Many institutions implement practices to help keep their students on track for a timely graduation – which is often a very good thing. However, some of these practices sometimes inadvertently ‘push the student through’ the class or program - to the detriment of the educational quality. One specific example within the accelerated module approach is the lack of established appropriate limitations for “catching up” when a student gets behind by two or three weeks in a five week class.

Hypothetical Scenario (based on actual events):A student begins his/her program… >>>

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