New Faculty Academy

March 09, 2020 / Bill Reynolds, PhD / Tags: Lucas Center, academy, New Faculty

Who can participate?

All new resident faculty hires at FGCU with less than two years of university teaching experience (not including graduate assistantships, teaching assistantships or adjunct teaching) are required to enroll. Other new faculty may enroll, space permitting.

Program requirements

Successfully completing this course is an expectation of employment. This course will be completed in lieu of service during the semester new faculty are enrolled in this course.

Becoming an effective educator takes more than just content knowledge. It takes more than merely implementing a syllabus and it doesn’t happen in a linear way. It’s hard work, reiterative and can be a life-altering experience ranging from intellectual highs to emotional lows. Teaching and learning happen within a social environment and demand a relationship between you and your students. It’s a learning process that never ends.

Most professors have not had any course work in teaching and learning but are expected to just "know" how to teach well. Some professors are gifted with exceptional people skills and make their way in the classroom with those gifts. Others try different techniques or flounder around trying to find ways to reach their students. For many, some immersion in learning theory, course design, behavior management and reflection makes learning how to teach a more successful endeavor.

This course is for new (and relatively new) educators at FGCU. It is built upon the belief that while no one can make one a better teacher, new faculty members can be given the tools to develop their own “teacher persona” through reading, discussing, reflecting, and practicing. Along the way they have opportunities for feedback from the instructor, other faculty members and their peers. The goal is to equip our new colleagues with skills that will set them on the path of teaching effectiveness.

This course is divided into 4 units:

Designing a Course
Teaching Strategies
Assessing Learning
My Academic Life

NFA is offered during the fall term on Friday mornings from 9 AM - 11:30 AM in LIB 221.

for more information, please contact the Lucas Center and lucascenter@fgcu.edu or 239-590-1282