Program Overview
The Lucas Center for Faculty Development promotes excellence and innovation in teaching and learning at FGCU. We offer programs for new faculty and their seasoned colleagues that aim to transform classrooms and careers. While most of our initiatives are targeted to faculty, we offer a robust selection of programming that supports, facilitates, promotes and advances best practices within our diverse learner-centered campus community.
Academies
COURSE DESIGN ACADEMY
The Course Design Academy (CDA) will meet for three full days in Summer A to explore learner-centered design principles, discuss ideas in small learning teams, and apply principles/concepts to courses and syllabi. You will exit with a new and improved fall course and tools to implement strategies and activities. Over the three days, we will continue to explore ways to “backward” design from what we want our students to know, identify effective ways to assess what our students know, explore ways to support significant long-term learning, and plug these ideas into your course.
Dates: 2024 Dates TBD
Time: 9:00a-3:00p
Location: LIB 221 (Lucas Center)
Assignment DEsign Academy
Assignments are powerful teaching tools, and their design is one of the most consequential intellectual tasks that faculty undertake in their work as educators. Yet that work is often private and unavailable for collegial exchange and knowledge building. This Academy will be an opportunity to talk with other faculty interested in trading ideas about the design and use of the various tasks, projects, papers, and performances we set for our students. Thoughtfully designed assignments can support learning-centered curricular and pedagogical reform and create clearer, more powerful pathways for students. And for faculty, working together on the design and peer review of assignments has turned out to be a powerful professional development experience. This Academy makes use of resources developed by the Transparency in Learning and Teaching project, and you can find additional information here that may help you decide if this Academy is right for you.
Dates & Times: TBD
Location: LIB 221 (Lucas Center)
ACADEMIC PORTFOLIO WORKSHOP
The Academic Portfolio Workshop is an intensive, week-long, mentored experience for faculty who intend to submit a promotion portfolio within the next two years. Adapted from a model designed by Peter Seldin, co-author of The Academic Portfolio: A Practical Guide to Documenting Teaching, Research, and Service, participants are assigned to a faculty coach who provides advice, editing, and feedback on the narrative portions of the promotion portfolio. The workshop will 1) aid you in developing an organizational framework to showcase your strengths and accomplishments as a faculty member and 2) offer guidance on how to organize your portfolio to meet university standards.
Dates: 2024 Dates TBD
Location: LIB 221 (Lucas Center)
Adjunct Academy
The Adjunct Academy is a professional development opportunity for adjunct instructors who are in good standing with their department and have taught for two consecutive years at FGCU. The purpose of the Adjunct Academy is to provide evidence-based pedagogy training to adjunct instructors who wish to enhance their skills and knowledge in teaching and learning best practices. Upon completion of all components of the Adjunct Academy compensation will be increased by $650 per three credit hour course. Note: this academy will be available twice per academic year, depending on demand.
Over a 12 month timeframe, the following components must be completed:
- Four two-hour, in-person pedagogy workshops, (including preparation for each session and a post-session assignment to be submitted on Canvas).
- Completion of Canvas online workshop
- Participation in one additional Lucas Center or Digital Learning academy or program OR three single session pedagogy workshops/presentations.
- One peer observation of teaching, documented by an observation report written by the peer observer.
Please contact lucascenter@fgcu.edu for additional information.
PEER OBSERVATION OF TEACHING WORKSHOP
Peer observation of teaching is a supportive and developmental process to encourage dialogue about teaching among collaborative peers. Research suggests that the peer observation process can benefit the teaching of both observer and observed (Hendry & Oliver, 2012). Therefore, by participating in this workshop you will 1) increase your capacity to provide a valuable service to your peers and the university, and 2) engage in professional development to enhance your own teaching. Faculty who have achieved the rank of associate professor or instructor II are eligible.
This workshop is facilitated over the course of three days from 9:00a-3:00p in-person at the Lucas Center (LIB-221).
INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY ACROSS THE CURRICULUM
The Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum (ISAC) Academy provides time, space, and resources for individuals from across the university to engage in inter- and cross-disciplinary discussions for sustainability content development. Faculty, staff, and adjuncts from all colleges and programs are encouraged to apply to this cohort-based annual workshop. No prior experience with sustainability is necessary. Participants will be compensated by stipend for participating in all scheduled dates and revising and/or implementing sustainability content, activities, or experiences.
Dates: TBD
Location: LIB 221 (Lucas Center)
Questions? Email jpmarcolini@fgcu.edu
Intermittent Academies
These academies are available according to faculty/staff interest.
EARLY CAREER ACADEMY
Climbing the Ladder to Successful Teaching, Scholarship and Service
Since the inception of the New Faculty Academy, we have had requests to develop similar experiences for faculty members who have been at FGCU for some time. The Lucas Center for Faculty Development has developed an annual academy to support faculty at early career (Instructor I, Assistant Professor, Assistant Librarian). The topics we cover and the tools we will provide will prepare, lead, guide, and challenge you to define your goals for the next 3-5 years, to support the attainment of your goals and identify how to integrate the three areas of faculty work with your personal and professional life. Imagining what your career can look like will prepare you to be an agent for your own growth and development. We hope you join fellow faculty members as they explore and plan their future career path.
ESTABLISHED CAREER ACADEMY
Managing your Career as Running a Marathon: Reflection & Transformation
Since the inception of the New Faculty Academy, we have had requests to develop similar experiences for faculty members who have been at FGCU for some time. The Lucas Center for Faculty Development has developed an annual academy to support faculty at established career (Instructor II & III, Associate Professor/Associate Librarian, Professor/University Librarian). The goal of this academy is to maintain instructional vitality, explore the role of advocacy and leadership, and to develop ways to engage in the reciprocal nature of mentoring. You will participate in a community of scholars and collaborate with a colleague across disciplines.
Book Clubs
Book Clubs are scheduled for fall and spring terms. Faculty and staff members can sign up for one club and must commit to reading assigned pages and participating in every discussion. The Lucas Center provides a copy of the book for participants to keep.
Campus Counterspaces
By: Micere Keels
Tracking a cohort of more than five hundred Black and Latinx students since they enrolled at five historically white colleges and universities in the fall of 2013 Campus Counterspaces finds that these students were not asking to be protected from new ideas. Instead, they relished exposure to new ideas, wanted to be intellectually challenged, and wanted to grow. However, Keels argues, they were asking for access to counterspaces -- safe spaces that enable radical growth. They wanted counterspaces where they could go beyond basic conversations about whether racism and discrimination still exist. They wanted time in counterspaces with likeminded others where they could simultaneously validate and challenge stereotypical representations of their marginalized identities and develop new counter narratives of those identities.
Facilitated By: Marianela Rivera
Dates: Wednesdays - 9/6, 10/4 & 11/8
Time: 10:30a-11:30a
Location: Lucas Center (LIB 221)
Modality: In-Person
Generous Thinking
By: Kathleen Fitzpatrick
Higher education occupies a difficult place in twenty-first-century American culture. Universities -- the institutions that bear so much responsibility for the future health of our nation -- are at odds with the very publics they are intended to serve. As Kathleen Fitzpatrick asserts, it is imperative that we re-center the mission of the university to rebuild that lost trust. Critical thinking -- the heart of what academics do -- can today often negate, refuse, and reject new ideas. In an age characterized by rampant anti-intellectualism, Fitzpatrick charges the academy with thinking constructively rather than competitively, building new ideas rather than tearing old ones down. She urges us to rethink how we teach the humanities and to refocus our attention on the very human ends -- the desire for community and connection -- that the humanities can best serve.
Facilitated By: Rebecca Totaro
Dates: Tuesdays- 9/12, 9/26, 10/10 & 10/24
Time: 10:00a-11:00a
Location: Lucas Center (LIB 221)
Modality: In-Person
Mathematics For Human Flourishing
By: Francis Su
For mathematician Francis Su, a society without mathematical affection is like a city
without concerts, parks, or museums. To miss out on mathematics is to live without
experiencing some of humanity’s most beautiful ideas.
In this profound book, written for a wide audience but especially for those disenchanted
by their past experiences, an award‑winning mathematician and educator weaves parables,
puzzles, and personal reflections to show how mathematics meets basic human desires—such
as for play, beauty, freedom, justice, and love—and cultivates virtues essential for
human flourishing. These desires and virtues, and the stories told here, reveal how
mathematics is intimately tied to being human.
In my experience, this book resonates with educators of all disciplines, shedding light on the broader significance of mathematics for every individual, not just math professors. We'll explore how the insights from this book can be applied in our respective fields and contribute to our personal and professional growth.
Facilitated By: Katie Johnson
Dates: Mondays - 8/28, 9/18, 10/9 & 10/30
Time: 2:00p-3:00p
Location: Lucas Center (LIB 221)
Modality: In-Person
Transforming Hispanic-Serving Institutions for Equity & justice
In Transforming Hispanic-Serving Institutions for Equity and Justice, Gina Ann Garcia argues that in order to serve Latinx students and other students of color, these institutions must acknowledge how whiteness operates across the organization, from the ways that it is governed and how decisions are made to how education and knowledge are delivered. Diversity alone is insufficient for achieving a dynamic learning environment within higher education institutions. Garcia's framework for transforming HSIs into truly Latinx institutions is grounded in critical theories, yet it advances new ways of thinking about how to organize colleges and universities that are actively serving students of color, low-income students, and students from other minoritized backgrounds. This framework connects multiple important dimensions, including mission, identity, strategic purpose, membership, curriculum, student services, physical infrastructure, governance, leadership, external partnerships, and external influences.
Facilitated By: Alex Pipitone & Amy Craig
Dates: Thursdays - 9/7, 10/5, 11/2* & 11/16
Time: 12:30p-1:30p
Location: Lucas Center (LIB 221)
Modality: In-Person
*Tunnel of Awareness
The Coddling of the American Mind
Special book group for the bold and adventuresome. NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART!!!
Millennials and Gen Z students are often characterized as being overly sensitive and entitled, perhaps even requiring “coddling,” as suggested by the title of one of the books we’ll be reading in this unique fall 2023 book group. But how do they see themselves? Do generalizations made about these groups in books like Lukianoff and Haidt’s The Coddling of the American Mind ring true, or do they misrepresent the experiences and dispositions of today’s college students?
This fall the Lucas Center offers its first 'books group' — TWO books to be read in tandem that offer contrasting perspectives on the most recent generations of young people.
The book group discussions will provide participants with the opportunity to compare and contrast the authors’ perspectives on the young people about whom they are writing, while also examining how our own assumptions, attitudes, and experiences as university faculty and staff impact our attitudes about today’s college students.
Facilitated By: Bill Reynolds & Brenda Thomas
Dates: Thursdays - 9/14, 10/5, 10/19, 11/9 & 12/7
Time: 10:30a-11:30a
Location: Lucas Center (LIB 221)
Modality: In-Person
Faculty Learning Communities
Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) are informal groups of faculty members who meet on a regular basis to explore topics of common interest. Groups may discuss relevant articles and classroom examples. Some groups may pose questions for the group to answer or seek problem solving help. Other groups may develop research projects or begin scholarly writing groups.
Active Learning
Facilitated by Lucas Fellow, Jessie Marcolini
Diversifying your pedagogy enhances critical thinking skills, long-term retention
of information, and student retention.1,5,9 When your pedagogy involves active learning students learn more than in a passive
lecture environment.3,4 Active teaching strategies have been found to increase attendance, engagement, and
positive attitudes toward the discipline.2,8 Research also suggests active learning disproportionately benefits underrepresented
minority students and individuals from low-income backgrounds.7 Implementation of high-intensity active learning has been shown to reduce achievement
gaps in exam scores by 33% and narrow gaps in passing rates by 45%.7 Despite this overwhelming evidence, most instructors still use traditional methods
of instruction, especially in large-enrollment college courses.6
This Active Learning Faculty Learning Community (FLC) will be an opportunity to connect with other faculty interested in active learning and collaborate on strategies to increase active learning within your curriculum. The Active Learning FLC aims to 1) stimulate ideas about how to embed active learning within your course(s), 2) help you work through the processes of creating active learning opportunities that engage students and increase learning outcomes, and 3) open up a productive dialogue about teaching, learning, and assessment.
INTEGRATING INFORMATION LITERACY
Facilitated by Heather Snapp
This faculty learning community is designed to help you integrate information literacy more intentionally into your assignments and courses. Learn about best practices, discuss strategies, and share and gain ideas from each other. Attendees will create or modify a new or existing assignment or course with the goal of incorporating information literacy objectives. This FLC is facilitated by Heather Snapp, First Year Experience and Outreach Librarian.
INTENTIONAL DESIGN: DESIGN-BASED STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVED TEACHING AND LEARNING
Facilitated by Anne-Marie Bouché
All teachers are necessarily designers — we create a universe of material and immaterial “things” with which students have to interact. How well that interaction goes is, to a surprising extent, controlled by the design of those things, whether that means a whole course, a webpage or an individual learning object.
The term “design” encompasses a very broad range of useful concepts and processes that can be used to improve educational materials and outcomes. By applying research-based design principles, and by simply looking at our courses and course materials more critically with a design-sensitized eye, we can discover many creative ways to enhance usability, reduce errors and confusion, make course communication more efficient, improve outcomes, provide an enhanced learning environment for a wider range of students and increase student satisfaction.
This Faculty Learning Community is for those who would like to explore the application of basic design principles and concepts to teaching and learning. Using our own courses and course artifacts as examples, we will share creative ideas and insights and develop a community of practice with the goal of making our courses more functional and more engaging. The first two meetings will be devoted to foundational concepts: design thinking, the design process and an introduction to basic principles. Participants will then be invited to select specific aspects of their courses they would like to focus on in subsequent meetings. Some possible topics include: syllabus design, designing your Canvas website; using design to improve assignment instructions; using visual assets effectively.
Week 1: What does “design” have to offer to teachers? Basic design concepts; “design thinking” and design process; “accessible” and “universal” design in education.
Week 2: Evaluating courses and learning objects from a design standpoint. Please bring at least one example or problem from your own practice that provides a problem or a solution that illustrates the application of one or more of the design principles explained in the readings below:
Donald Norman. The Design of Everyday Things (introduction)
William Lidwell, Kritina Holden and Jill Butler. Universal Principles of Design (excerpts)
Weeks 3-5: Specific topics to be determined by the group.
EXPLORING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AS A MENTORING OPPORTUNITY
Facilitated by Greg Boyce
Undergraduate research is a high impact teaching practice that provides a unique mentoring opportunity for students and faculty. The Council of Undergraduate Research goes as far as to state “We believe that undergraduate research is the pedagogy of the 21st century.” In this faculty learning community, we will discuss best practices, design appropriate level projects, identify internal and external funding opportunities, and share what works best in providing transformative experiences to our undergraduate students. New cross-discipline collaborations may also arise from attending this FLC. We will also have guests from various fields of study who will briefly share their experience followed by group discussion and Q&A. Research is broadly defined as seeking new knowledge and all disciplines (including art, business, engineering, entrepreneurship, humanities, nursing, sciences) are welcome and encouraged to participate.
Lucas Faculty Fellows 2023-2024
Megan Atha, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Educational Measurement, Assessment, & Research
COE Department of Leadership, Technology & Research
Focus of Fellowship: The focus on my fellowship is in supporting FGCU faculty in using Qualtrics survey
software to enhance pedagogy and scholarship through workshops and consulting.
matha@fgcu.edu | 239-590-7202
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Reports & Resources
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Jason Elek
Instructor III/Co-Director, Sanibel Island Writer's Conference
Language & Literature
Focus of Fellowship: Empowering faculty across the university to level up their writing instruction via
workshops, interdisciplinary partnerships, research, and publishing.
jelek@fgcu.edu | 239-590-1105
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Reports & Resources
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Dr. Katie Johnson
Associate Professor & LA Program Lead
Mathematics
Focus of Fellowship: I will be running a workshop series and accompanying Faculty Learning Community on
"Building Strong Teamwork Skills in Active Learning Classes." This series is designed
to support educators in fostering students' essential teamwork abilities, enabling
them to thrive in collaborative learning environments. We'll dive into the dynamics
of effective teams, explore strategies for creating diverse and cohesive groups, and
discuss how to cultivate a supportive team culture. Additionally, we'll share valuable
techniques for team-based assessment and constructive feedback, which empowers students
with crucial communication and accountability skills. Let's work together to help
our students become collaborative problem-solvers and critical thinkers, unlocking
the full potential of active learning through the development of strong teamwork skills.
kjohnson@fgcu.edu | 239-590-7235
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Reports & Resources
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Jessie Marcolini, Ed.D.
Assistant Director/Instructor II
Whitaker Center for STEM Education/Department of Integrated Studies
Focus of Fellowship: Creating Teaching Resources to Increase Active Learning Strategies within High Enrollment
and DFW courses.
jpmarcolini@fgcu.edu | 239-745-4293
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John Roth, DMin
Certified Adjunct Faculty
Communication & Philosophy
Focus of Fellowship: In his past fellowship with the Lucas Center, John Roth surveyed adjunct faculty
and did research on the relationship between department leaders and adjunct faculty
at FGCU. That research has been sent in for publication. He will utilize this past
work to focus upon investigating the support other higher educational institutions
give adjunct faculty and advocating best practices at FGCU.
jroth@fgcu.edu
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Reports & Resources
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Brenda L. Thomas, Ed.D. ABD
University Colloquium Coordinator
Instructor II, Department of Integrated Studies
Focus of Fellowship: The focus of this fellowship is twofold: to encourage and support scholarship related
to the Student-Faculty Partnership Program and to encourage and support the Scholarship
of Teaching and Learning more broadly.
bthomas@fgcu.edu | 239-590-1497
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Reports & Resources
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Elizabeth Weatherford, M.A.
Instructor II
Language & Literature
Focus of Fellowship: Researching and demonstrating how Universal Design for Learning can be used to increase
student engagement, performance, and instructor satisfaction.
eweatherford@fgcu.edu | 239-590-7773
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Reports & Resources
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2022-2023 Fellows' Resources
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Georgia Strange
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2020-2022 Fellows' Resources
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Burcu Izci
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Megan McShane
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John Roth
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Charles Xiaoxue Wang
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2018-2020 Fellows' Resources
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Anne-Marie Bouche
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Greg Boyce
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Miles Mancini
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Heather Snapp
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New Faculty Mentoring
What is a Mentor?
Mentors are full-time faculty members at FGCU who have been with the university for at least three years. Faculty members who have successfully completed the Course Design Academy will be given preference as mentors because of their work in best practice pedagogy. Mentors have skills in many areas but do not profess to be a “guru” about all things but rather are a “coach” who can support early career faculty members and help a new faculty member find the resources either on-campus or in the wider academic community to be a successful faculty member. Although these mentors will be expected to primarily support the new faculty members with classroom pedagogy, they may be called upon for advice and support in other areas. A mentor may not be from the same discipline or department as the mentee; however, the mentor will help the mentee find the advice and resources they need.
For application information, contact the Lucas Center at lucascenter@fgcu.edu.
New Faculty Academy
Overview
New Faculty Academy (NFA) is for new (and relatively new) faculty members at FGCU, who are referred to NFA by their department chair upon being hired. During the fall semester, we will focus on best practices for teaching effectiveness. In the spring we introduce an intentional, holistic approach to shaping your career. 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, if there is space available.
Teaching Effectiveness: The first half of NFA is built upon the belief that while no one can make you be a better teacher, you can be given the tools to develop your own “teacher persona” through reading, discussing, reflecting, and practicing. Along the way you’ll have opportunities for feedback from your NFA facilitators, other faculty members and your peers. The goal is to equip you with skills that will set you on the path of teaching effectiveness.
Shaping your Career: The second half of NFA recognizes that there are multiple demands on faculty members and that preparation to work in the academy does not always a) address the full range of professional responsibilities faculty engage in, b) clearly outline expectations for success, or c) acknowledge the challenge of finding a healthy balance between professional and personal responsibilities. The goal is to equip you with skills that set you on the path to overall success as a faculty member at FGCU.
NFA is offered bi-weekly during the fall term on Friday mornings from 9:00a-11:00a and monthly on Fridays during the spring term in LIB 221.
For more information, please contact us at lucascenter@fgcu.edu or 239-590-1282.
Peer Observation of Teaching
Purpose
Formative Feedback
Process
At the Lucas Center we view peer observation of teaching (POT) as an effective mechanism
for assisting faculty to achieve their professional goals related to the art and science
of teaching. Research strongly suggests that POT (being observed and observing others)
can provide an opportunity for collegial conversations about teaching, while also
enabling reflective practice and providing opportunities for the provision of developmental
advice (Drew et al., 2016; Hammersley-Fletcher & Orsmond, 2005; Hendry & Oliver, 2012;
Pressick-Kilborn & te Riele, 2008).
In order to most closely align POT with the mission, vision, and goals of the Lucas
Center, we employ a coaching model that conceptualizes POT as a formative, collaborative,
and developmental series of activities conducted between a Lucas Center representative
and a faculty member who wishes to engage in a dialogue about her/his teaching (in
contrast to a summative, more formally evaluative approach used by some institutions).
In this spirit of mutuality, all observers commit to opening their classrooms to observation
by those they observe.
Despite our intention to enact a process that is useful and fulfilling for both the
faculty member being observed and the observer, we acknowledge that vulnerability
and concerns about judgment are inherent in the process. Therefore, we ensure that
confidentiality is built into the POT procedure, and written reports are provided
directly and only to the observed faculty members when requested. Peer observers are
encouraged to share their experiences of and feelings about being observed in their
own classes in order to foster trust and mutuality in the observation process.
The Lucas Center will not provide letters or reports attesting to the quality or effectiveness
of one’s teaching based on a single observation. However, when faculty members provide
a clear set of learning objectives for a given lesson during the pre-observation meeting,
observers can comment on the extent to which those objectives have been achieved.
Procedure
Faculty wishing to schedule an observation should follow these steps.
- Contact your chosen observer to request an observation at least three weeks before the date of the class session you would like observed and arrange a pre-observation consultation.
- Email your observer the course syllabus and any materials you believe would help her/him better understand your goals for the class and how you intend to accomplish them.
- Attend a brief (typically 15 – 30 minutes) pre-observation meeting, during which you will a) discuss your general approach to teaching and any specific elements of your lesson (e.g., teaching methods, style, student engagement) about which you would like feedback and b) learn about the observer’s approach to conducting an observation.
- Within a week of the observed class, participate in a post-observation meeting, during which you and the observer will discuss your respective perceptions of the class, and the observer will provide feedback and suggestions (often including detailed descriptive notes) typically in direct response to the areas of focus discussed in the pre-observation meeting.
We strongly believe that peer observation of teaching can play a valuable role for all faculty who engage in a reflective process of professional improvement. We hope to visit many of your classrooms and encourage you to observe the teaching of Lucas Center personnel at your convenience.
Trained Peer observers
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Menaka Navaratna
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Alayde Barbosa
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Angel Taylor
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Tatiana Schuss
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Brenda Thomas
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Tanya Huffman
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Jackie Greene
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Dan Bacalzo
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Reid Lennertz
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Jason Zhang
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Jan-Martijn Meij
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Jeffrey Kleeger
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Amanda Parke
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Matt Palmtag
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Daniel Lambrecht
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Cara Brooks
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Shelby Gilbert
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Small Group Instructional Diagnosis of Teaching (SGID)
Between weeks four and seven of the semester is a terrific time to seek feedback from your students about how they are experiencing your class. The Small-Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID) is a focus group led by a trained facilitator who speaks directly with your students to provide formative feedback concerning ways learning can be enhanced. A post-SGID consultation between facilitator and instructor is part of the procedure. The SGID session takes about 30 minutes of class time.
Student-Faculty Partnership Program
IN THE NEWS!
The Student-Faculty Partnership Program is featured by FGCU's news source FGCU360 in the April 28, 2023 edition. Please read the article and watch the video HERE.
oVERVIEW
The model for the SFPP is the Bryn Mawr Students as Learners and Teachers (SaLT) program (Cook-Sather, 2014), a student-faculty partnership program that has proven effective for over a decade. Like the SaLT program the SFPP pairs faculty members with students positioned as pedagogical consultants to those faculty. The program has been running successfully at FGCU since Fall 2018. Student-faculty pairs work in semester-long partnerships to analyze, affirm, and revise the pedagogical approaches employed in a particular course, with participants meeting regularly one-on-one and in larger groups to discuss their work.
Students apply for the position of consultant; the application process includes writing a statement about why they want to be a consultant and what would make them good at the role. Student applicants also secure two letters of recommendation: one from a faculty or staff member, and one from a student peer. This application process is not designed to exclude but rather to prompt students to reflect on their experiences and recognize the ways in which they have expertise and insights to bring to conversations about teaching and learning. Each student consultant is paid approximately $1248 for the semester to fulfill the following responsibilities:
- Consultants will participate in an orientation and all participants will be given detailed guidelines for participating in the program.
- Consultants will meet with their faculty partners to establish why each is involved, what hopes both have for the collaboration, and to plan the semester’s focus and meetings.
- Consultants will visit one class session of their faculty partner’s course each week and take detailed observation notes on the pedagogical challenge(s) the faculty member identifies.
- Consultants will survey or interview students in the class (if the faculty member wishes), either for mid-course feedback or at another point in the semester.
- Consultants will meet weekly with their faculty partners to discuss observation notes and other feedback and implications.
- Consultants also participate in weekly meetings with other student consultants and with the coordinator of the program for support and debriefing.
Additional details of the SFPP are as follows:
- Consultants are not enrolled in the courses for which they consult.
- The student-faculty partnerships are formed largely based on participants’ schedules and, where possible, taking into consideration personality and academic experience.
- Faculty receive a $500 stipend
By bringing faculty out of pedagogical solitude and into partnership with students, the program will invite faculty to reflect critically on their pedagogical practice in dialogue with those who spend their days in classrooms, and it positions students as co-producers rather than consumers of educational approaches and knowledge.
Application PROCESS
Each Fall and Spring semester, the Lucas Center plans a mid-semester SFPP Information Panel that features current partners speaking about their experience. All interested campus partners are welcome to attend. After the panel concludes, applications open for both student partners and faculty partners, and remain open for 4 weeks. Once applications are reviewed, applicants are notified by the end of the semester if they are accepted into the following semester's group of partners. At this time, partnerships are limited to 18 pairs, so applications are competitive.
REFERENCES
Cook-Sather, A. (2011). Layered learning: student consultants deepening classroom and life lessons. Educational Action Research, 19(1), 41–57. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2011.547680
Cook-Sather, A. (2014). Student-faculty partnership in explorations of pedagogical practice: a threshold concept in academic development. International Journal for Academic Development, 19(3), 186–198. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2013.805694
Cook-Sather, A. (2015). Dialogue Across Differences of Position, Perspective, and Identity: Reflective Practice in/on a Student-Faculty Pedagogical Partnership Program. Teachers College Record, 117(2), 1–42.
Cook-Sather, A., Bovill, C., & Felten, P. (2014). Engaging Students as Partners in Learning and Teaching: A Guide for Faculty. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.
Southwest Florida Symposium on Teaching and Learning:
Two-day event for faculty, staff, and students
Keynote Address, Sessions & Date TBD
2020 program2021 Program2022 PROGRAM 2023 Program
Questions? Contact lucascenter@fgcu.edu or tlc@fsw.edu
