Watch Party

The Problem & The Gap: 

Two years into the pandemic, faculty development has completely transformed. Most live faculty development activities are now conducted virtually. At McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, we capitalized on the digital delivery of numerous live virtual events and curated a free open access library of faculty development content. To date, the library houses 85 video productions edited from recorded footage of live events. For each video production, the faculty development team needs 3 to 9 months for the planning, delivery, and post-production editing work.  

Despite the increased accessibility, attendance at live events and viewership to recorded videos are often low. How can we connect them to the faculty members more effectively? 

The Hook: 

Inspired by popular video-streaming platforms, our team experimented with a Watch Party format. We advertised “Watch Party” as a monthly event for the noon hour on the last Monday of every month. We chose a particularly relevant topic for each event one month ahead to ensure timeliness and relevance. We recruited co-facilitators who were either the original presenters featured on the videos or faculty members with similar expertise. 

Between February 2021 and January 2022, we hosted 9 watch parties. We engaged 80 facilitators and participants. For each event, we only showed the most important segments, interspersing them with interactive moments. Co-facilitators offered insights while participants shared their reflections. Watch Party topics included mentorship, wellness, and anti-oppressive practice in clinical education. Participants endorsed the predictive schedule and timely discussions.

The Take Home Point:

After amassing a digital video collection, Watch Party is a quick, easy-to-plan, and effective way to engage faculty members in faculty development.