Introducing Tracy

Hello, my name is Tracy Schiffmann. I have been an instructional designer and trainer for about 20 years. I design, train and coach primarily in higher ed, social services, and for social science research projects.

For the last five years I have had my own consulting business and have written over 20 curricula and done instructional coaching with clients all across the US. Some of my clients include Oregon Social Learning Center, MercyCorps Northwest, National Friends of the Children, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Center for Community of Caring. My most widely used curriculum is Parenting Inside Out, a parenting program for incarcerated parents used in all Oregon prisons and sold nationally and internationally. This program was studied by the Oregon Social Learning Center in a randomized controlled trial and among other positive findings, has been shown to reduce recidivism by 60%.

I have also coached college faculty in best practices in learning communities for developmental learners at colleges in AZ, NC, TX, OR, OH and GA.

I have a BA in Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley and an Ed.M. from Oregon State University. All of my instructional design to date has been for instructor led, face-to-face training and teaching. Because I want to stay abreast of all the ways I can create and facilitate adult learning I've decided to update my skills through this certificate program in online learning for adult educators. I am excited to be starting this course and I look forward to learning from and sharing with all of you.

Personally, I have a 25 year old, Ryan, who lives in Vancouver, WA and a wonderful husband, Bob, to whom I've been married for three years. I enjoy social partner dancing (waltz, blues, zydeco, swing, two-step, and a wee bit of Tango), and I love talking with colleagues about experiences and best practices in adult teaching and learning. I look forward to meeting you all virtually and the adventure ahead of us in this course!