This goal is accomplished through the following activities:

1. Create a dialogue with faculty and administration that will increase the awareness and interest in the scholarship of discovery, integration, teaching, and application
2. Consultation with faculty on the writing of publishable materials
3. Conducting of workshops on writing for professional journals

Strategic Goal Two: Provide leadership, advocacy, support and assistance to administrators and faculty in improving professional growth, evaluation techniques, leadership skills, the quality of the scholarship of teaching, and the ability to participate in interdisciplinary activities.

This goal will be accomplished through the following activities:

• To support individuals, departments and others in their efforts to achieve their instructional and teaching goals
• To sponsor workshops, seminars, orientation sessions, and other efforts to improve the teaching/learning environment on campus to acquaint administration and faculty with innovative instructional techniques, pedagogical research on effective teaching, and state of the art instructional technology to enhance education
• To foster a professional dialogue among faculty and administration concerning effective teaching, learning, and evaluation of those efforts
• To establish a formal Orientation Program for all faculty new to the Dental Branch
• To provide evaluation expertise to enhance the faculty's abilities to structure, develop, and evaluate courses and curricula by collaborating with DB Evaluation Committee, Curriculum Committee, and individual chairs and faculty.
• To assist in establishing a mechanism and process for the valid, reliable and objective evaluation of faculty by students, department chairs, and the Dean
• To develop, pilot test, evaluate and implement a Peer Review System of the faculty
• To assist in establishing a mechanism and process for the valid, reliable and objective evaluation of administration by faculty, peers, and the Dean
• To provide consultation and mentoring on the promotion and tenure process, the Six Year Review, and portfolio development
• To provide individual consultation to support faculty development
• To provide a professional development program for department chairs to further the development of leadership and management skills
• To conduct annual salary equity studies and consult with chairs and administration to ensure equity

Strategic Goal Three: Provide leadership, expertise, in the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of new educational technologies.

This will be accomplished through:

• Fostering a dialogue with the Dental Branch Community on the use of educational technologies in teaching and evaluation of students and calibration of faculty
• Consultation with faculty, administration, and staff to determine: 1) their educational needs and objectives; 2) the appropriate technological approach to meet those needs and objectives; and 3) the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of that approach
• Establish a Simulation Steering Committee to investigate the use of simulation in pre-clinical and clinical teaching of undergraduate dental students and to make recommendations on the use, implementation and evaluation of that simulated environment
• Designing and conducting workshops on the use of technology in teaching

Strategic Goal Four: Promote sensitivity among administration, faculty, and staff to cultural and gender differences.

• The OERPD will establish an ad hoc committee on diversity that will provide the Dental Branch Community with an assessment of the current environment, recommendations for change, and implementation strategies. This will be a one-year study.
• Sensitivity regarding cultural and gender differences will also be promoted through the workshops offered by the OERPD

• Office of Educational Research and Professional Development Activities

1. To engage in the scholarship of teaching and research on learning
2. To engage in the scholarship of professional development
3. To promote cultural diversity and sensitivity among the Dental Branch Community
4. To engage in the formalization of inter disciplinary activities among HSC schools
5. To conduct exit interviews of all departing faculty and administration
6. To explore and communicate the potential of the application of new technologies to education
7. To test the efficacy of new technologies in Dental Education

To assist in the development and evaluation of instructional teaching simulations

• The OERPD provides the following Services