The Cultural Life Program (CLP) provides enriching and challenging learning opportunities that engage members of the Furman community in a spectrum of issues, ideas, and artistic expressions from various disciplines and cultures. Whether you are a seasoned CLP pro, or considering your first proposal, you are invited to discuss the process of proposing a CLP […]
Talking Teaching conversations provide an opportunity to build community and reflect on links between our teaching practice and student learning experiences. Join colleagues from a range of disciplines to discuss ideas about both long-standing and emerging pedagogical challenges. These open and informal conversations focus on emergent teaching and learning issues in an informal, discussion-based format. […]
In this working breakfast we will invite conversation about small tweaks to course design and pedagogy that might bolster learning environments that provide equitable opportunities for students to succeed. After hearing brief highlights from a Furman colleague about their experience making pedagogical changes designed to cultivate more diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning experiences, the remainder […]
Author James M. Lang argues that how we teach is often at odds with how students learn. Classrooms are designed to force students into long periods of intense focus, but emerging science reveals that the brain is wired for distraction. We learn best when able to actively seek and synthesize new information. Brimming with ideas and grounded […]
This book explores how belonging differs based on students’ social identities, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, or the conditions they encounter on campus. Belonging―with peers, in the classroom, or on campus―is a critical dimension of success at college. It can affect a student’s degree of academic adjustment, achievement, aspirations, and retention. Group meetings will occur […]
Colleagues are rightfully concerned about the long-term cognitive and social effects of COVID, especially on long-term learning and motivation. Deci/Ryan's Self Determination Theory (SDT 1985) argues that intrinsic motivation includes 3 components: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Further, they contend that we don’t motivate students to achieve—we create learning environments in which they motivate themselves to […]
In a recent FDC Reading Circle colleagues explored Joe Feldman’s controversial Grading for Equity, which calls into question long-held pedagogical practices. The book takes readers on a compelling journey to evaluate inconsistent grading practices and illuminate how some of our most common practices may be perpetuating achievement and opportunity gaps. In this Learning by Design (LBD) Studio, we share […]
Join us for an open-forum conversation about recent artificial intelligence text generation gains and their implication for teaching and learning. To gain familiarity with the issue prior to gathering, please read one of the following: AI and the Future of Undergraduate Writing OR One in a series of pieces by John Warner in Inside Higher Ed available here and here. Our conversation […]
Through the generous one-time funding of a recent Duke Endowment Leadership development grant the FDC is excited to offer workshops and resources for participants to develop peer coaching skills. The Duke Leadership Peer Coaching program includes 3 elements that build upon one another: an initial peer coaching workshop, a follow-up skills application workshop in an area […]
As prominent as grading is for anyone who teaches, the conventional practices we employ for this purpose like calculating average scores, using a 100-point scale, and providing extra credit opportunities are often taken for granted as effective strategies to accurately evaluate student learning. In this Learning by Design (LBD) Studio, we share insight from the […]
Lunch and Learn Open Forum: Artificial Intelligence and the Evolving Role of Educator February 13 from 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm Trustees Dining Hall Workshop: Practical and Ethical Use of AI Tools in Your Course February 13 from 4 pm – 5:15 pm Location TBD The Faculty Development Center and Writing Programs invite […]
We will use an adapted formulation of the reduce/reuse/recycle framework to identify strategies for actually protecting the protected time on our schedules, especially when unexpected student, family, or self-care needs arise. Borrowing from Berg & Seeber’s The Slow Professor, we will interrogate “timelessness tips” for re-claiming our time and reframing how we think about spending […]
