Exchange Space: A Conversation around New Faculty in Your Program or Unit

How are new faculty guided toward effective teaching?  Beyond New Faculty Orientation, what is your unit doing that works, and how did this come about? How might a partnership within a Division help advance teaching among our newest faculty?  What are the needs you see not being met?

We have been experimenting by creating an exchange space to “scale” collaboration and interest in addressing common challenges in teaching and learning at the department, program, School, or unit level – as cohorts. Often, workshops and change efforts have focused solely on helping individual instructors make course changes. This is certainly essential, however, some advise that “the way to reform is not to circumvent the departmental structure that is endemic to most academic institutions but to enlist that structure in the reform itself.” (Zemsky, 1991, p. 5).

This Exchange space is not a workshop or presentation, but rather, an exchange among interested or already involved colleagues who will share their questions, interest, successes, and challenges with creating and implementing change around a particular challenge or need in teaching and learning. Together, we better define the problem or need and learn what is already being done, propose what could be done, and perhaps learn of mistakes to avoid. Join us and come away with ideas, strategies, colleague advice or models, lessons learned, and inspiration!

Join us for this exchange and come away with ideas, strategies, colleague advice or models, lessons learned, and inspiration! Contact me in advance if you have an example or model to share (via Zoom screen sharing, digital handouts, etc.).