Synopsis of Critical Incidents DVDs

Our Critical Incidents DVDs are in use at more than 650 colleges and universities worldwide. The DVDs are often used in teaching development workshops for faculty, sessional instructors and teaching assistants where a facilitator is present to guide the discussion.

A critical incident may be thought of as a highly compressed case study that poses a problem but offers no preferred solution. In this series, the University of Victoria has produced dramatized vignettes that depict a wide variety of challenges associated with teaching and learning in higher education. Each scene lasts three to four minutes and discussion questions follow each episode. A discussion guidebook is included in the purchase price of each DVD.

The vignettes have been used to trigger problem-solving discussions among a wide variety of campus groups including faculty, part-time instructors, graduate teaching assistants, graduate students enrolled in courses on university teaching, undergraduate students and administrative staff.

The following is a list of vignettes on each of our faculty and TA teaching development Critical Incident DVDs:

Ordering Information

In addition, the Learning and Teaching Centre has three additional Critical Incidents DVDs available:

1. Critical Incidents: Challenges of Inclusion in the Elementary School
   This is a training and development resource for teachers who are concerned with skill development in the area of inclusion in elementary schools. Cost: $82.50 for both Canadian and US/Int'l orders. Includes shipping and applicable taxes.
2. Critical Incidents in the Workplace 1
   This is a teaching resource for Cooperative Education Programs and consists of eight vignettes that focus on interview skills, harassment issues, workplace issues, computer misuse and other Cooperative Education work term issues. Cost: $110 for both Canadian and US/Int'l orders. Includes shipping and applicable taxes.
3. Critical Safety Incidents
   This DVD graphically translates lessons learned from a fire in our Chemistry Department in the discussion format of Critical Incidents. The DVD provides a foundation for a safety training event of 30 - 40 minutes (for undergraduate students, TAs, Occupational Health and Safety Units, etc.) where viewing of the DVD is interspersed with a facilitator-guided discussion of the incidents. The DVD includes footage from a fire in the chemistry department and the ensuing action by graduate students, faculty and staff, security personnel and the fire departments. DVD of the aftermath of the fire focuses on its effect on chemicals, equipment and general housekeeping in the laboratory. Cost: $66 for both Canadian and US/Int'l orders. Includes shipping and applicable taxes.