STAFF SPOTLIGHT: Get to know Jacob Santos, Instructional Design Specialist at the Academic Commons

What is your title?
My official title is Instructional Design Specialist, and I am joining the Academic Commons team at Thomas Jefferson University.

Can you explain what that title means to you: what types of projects and work will you be doing, and what groups at Jefferson will you be supporting?
The title of Instructional Design Specialist means that I will have the opportunity to collaborate with faculty and other subject matter experts (SME) to design engaging and effective learning experiences. These experiences can include designing and developing courses and learning modules, activities, materials, and assessments. Currently, I am familiarizing myself with the EdTech tools my team uses so that I can better support the faculty, staff, and students here at Jefferson. I am extremely excited to begin collaborating with everybody and build some incredible educational experiences together!

How do you like working at Jefferson so far? Has anything about Jefferson or the Academic Commons surprised you?
I have enjoyed my first few weeks here at Jefferson so far. The staff I have met across different areas of the various campuses have all been extremely welcoming and have helped me start to find my place in the Jefferson community. Coming from the K-12 classroom environment, there is certainly a great deal that is different and surprising to me, all of it good so far! I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Academic Commons runs workshops throughout the year on diverse topics, and I look forward to being able to run my own workshop series allowing me to still step into the educator’s shoes from time to time, just without the piles of papers to grade afterwards.

Before joining Jefferson as an Instructional Designer, what were you doing? What motivated you to want to pursue a career in instructional design?
Before joining Jefferson, I was a middle school language arts and social studies teacher. I taught primarily sixth and seventh grade but also taught an eighth-grade class for two years. After teaching for six years, I came to a stage where I found myself at a crossroads in my career. My now fiancé and I had been in a long-distance relationship for about a year when we decided we wanted to share our life together, and I decided that meant leaving my home state of Rhode Island and joining her here in Philadelphia! There is a joke in Rhode Island that no one ever leaves the state, and I am happy to be an exception to that rule. When I decided to move, I decided to make a career change with it, and after exploring different career paths I could pursue, I settled on instructional design. I have always loved the process of creating exciting and engaging learning experiences for students to interact with material in new and exciting ways. As I was learning the new tools of the trade, I found a renewed passion and energy for education that I had not felt since my early years as a teacher. I knew I always wanted to stay in the world of education, and this field was an excellent opportunity to allow me to help others bring their vision of what their course could be to life in new and exciting ways.

What is one of your favorite teaching tools or a pedagogy that you’re excited to explore and share with Jefferson educators?
I have found that in my recent years of teaching, any tool or tech that can give the learners more agency and interactivity in their learning is key to building the most ideal learning environment. I used tools like Nearpod all the time, and I know they recently updated with some exciting modules geared towards higher education learning. For my students, I always used Quizlet, which was great for creating study sets for them and for testing their knowledge in a fun team-based game. I have recently been exploring all the features that Packback has to offer, which I really enjoyed and wish I had access to when I was running my classroom! Regarding pedagogy, I have always had a passion for making sure my learning was accessible and that I had placed effort into building a community within my classroom space to make my learners more comfortable and more invested in their learning.

Where will your office be located?
I will be on both the Center City and East Falls campuses regularly. In Center City, I am located in the Scott Memorial Library, and I plan to be at East Falls twice a week in the Gutman Library. The easiest method to contact me is via email: Jacob.Santos@jefferson.edu, where we can set up a time to meet in person or on Zoom. I want faculty at both campuses to feel comfortable working with myself and my team, knowing that we have many services that we can offer them to enhance their learning experiences and hopefully make their jobs a bit easier, too!

What is something you’re binging right now? (It could be a TV show, podcast, book series, music artist, etc.) Something I am binging right now on TV is Abbot Elementary. I am an avid reader and am currently making my way through The Witcher book series as well. I will always take book or TV recommendations in the Fantasy and sci-fi genre.

When not helping faculty, how do you like to spend your time?
When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with the new friends I have made since moving to Philadelphia. We play lots of board games together and have been able to explore various restaurants in the city as well. I am still learning about Philly and am always open to recommendations for places to visit and see. I am an avid Dungeons & Dragons player, having worked as a professional Game Master for two years. When I am not playing in person, you can find me playing Baldur’s Gate 3 online. As noted above, I am an avid reader and I love to get out and travel as much as I can.