Think of a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) as a working group. In this case, we’re coming together to focus on teaching methods, philosophies, and practices. Whether you’re just starting your teaching career or are a veteran instructor, gathering with colleagues to discuss Scholarship on Teaching and Learning (SoTL), share ideas, and brainstorm solutions can make your time in the classroom more rewarding.
This FLC is the first school-wide program aimed at fostering conversations among teachers; we’re part of the first campus-wide wave of such efforts. FLCs focused on teaching will also launch this Fall in BioSci, Engineering, and Social Ecology. There’s no precedent for predicting exactly what you’ll get out of the experience, though the FLC’s intention is to support interdisciplinary attention to teaching across the School and to build community among faculty. In the absence of habit, this community can go in directions that best suit the needs and interests of the participants.
As the facilitator, I’ll arrive at the first meeting with an initial reading list, some suggestions about where to start, and ideas about what we might do. We’ll decide as group which direction we want to pursue.
This FLC can take many forms, including:
A reading & discussion group
- How might engaging with research-based, peer-reviewed literature on teaching methods and philosophies enrich your classroom experience?
- How might familiarity with SoTL influence your relationship with graduate students and TAs?
- Would SoTL make sense as a field in your department’s grad program?
A platform for sharing ideas and developing teaching strategies
- How can you encourage deeper, better reading by your students?
- Are you looking for tips so that you can provide more targeted feedback on student writing–and spend less of your time doing it?
- Are you interested in developing strategies that encourage greater student participation in discussion?
A forum for feedback and peer evaluation of syllabi, lesson ideas, and classroom dynamics
- How are you approaching CAP’s request for a second form of evidence about your teaching?
- Would you benefit from an in-class appraisal by a trained evaluator?
- Are you interested in learning more about what your colleagues do in their classes, and to hear about what’s working and what isn’t?
A tool for investigating specific aspects of teaching
- Active Learning
- Technology in the classroom
- Digital literacy in humanistic inquiry
- Attention to particular kinds of classes
- large lectures
- writing intensive courses
- research-focused courses
- cross-listed courses
The ultimate direction of the SOH’s FLC is up to the participants.
If you’ve got questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.
If you’d like to come to the first meeting and shape the direction for the Fall quarter, please RSVP.
~Laura Mitchell | mitchell@uci.edu