Faculty Learning Community

The Faculty Learning Community (FLC) provides a dedicated space for faculty to learn more about course design and redesign, explore McGuire’s instructional strategies presented in her professional development sessions, and establish a community of peers to share experiences and seek solutions.

The FLC responsibilities include:

October 1, 2020: 3:45-5:00 pm
Using Appreciative Advising to Help Students Excel

Audience: Staff & Faculty

Students often come to college with high aspirations, but with inadequate preparation to excel. This interactive session will present a discussion of appreciative advising, an advising technique developed by Jennifer Bloom. This approach has the potential to facilitate more effective academic advising of today’s students. Effectively integrating learning strategies into advising sessions will also be discussed.

December 4, 2020: 9:00-10:30
Get Students to Focus on Learning Instead of Grades: Metacognition is Key!

Audience: FLC participants and Sector colleagues

21^st Century students come to college with widely varying academic skills, approaches to learning, and motivation levels. Faculty often lament that students are focused on achieving high grades, but are not willing to invest much time or effort in learning. This session will focus on the importance of helping students acquire simple, but effective, learning strategies based on cognitive science principles. We will engage in interactive reflection activities that will allow attendees to experience strategies that significantly improve student success by transforming students’ attitudes about the meaning of learning.

December 4, 2020: 11:00-12:30 (Virtual meeting)

• Discuss FLC expectations
• Group FLC action plan
• Faculty begin to establish their individual action plan

January 29, 2021: 9:00-4:00 (Virtual meeting option)

• Discuss Dr. McGuire’s presentations and book, Teach Students How to Learn
• Explore backward design and its integration into the course (re)design
• Identify and plan assessment and other instructional changes for the course (re)design founded on McGuire’s teachings

From January to March (and beyond), participants will continue to redesign parts of their course, rewrite syllabus, assignments, and grading criteria. CETL staff will be available for one-on-one consultations during this time. Virtual consultations option available.

March 19, 2021: 9:00-4:00 (Virtual meeting option)

• Share instructional changes
• Connect the course improvements to an assessment plan
• Select presentation methodology for Motivation & Mindset Symposium

May 7, 2021: 9:00-12:00
Best Practices in Teaching Symposium

• Poster sessions or presentations by GHC faculty and staff for GHC faculty and staff
• Presentation of SoTL and other teaching projects/practices that have emerged from FLC work
• Invitation to present extended to all GHC faculty and staff
• Virtual option will be made available for poster sessions or presentations

Faculty Learning Community
Application Details

Amount

• Each participant will receive $500 for attending Dr. McGuire’s presentations, completing the FLC sessions and expectations for course (re)design, participating in the Mindset Symposium, and fulfilling all criteria.

Eligibility

• Full-time faculty who are under contract with GHC during the 2020-2021 academic year
• Ability to attend and participate fully in Dr. McGuire’s presentations, the FLC meetings, the symposium, and any additional meeting dates.

Criteria

• Attend the Motivation & Mindset Summit presentations for faculty with Dr. McGuire on October 1 and December 4, 2020
• Participate in the Motivation & Mindset Faculty Learning Community
• Attend and participate in the Best Practices in Teaching Symposium
• Submit final reflection of FLC due by May 21, 2021 (prompts provided)
• Develop and submit course artifacts due by May 21, 2021. This includes, but not limited to:
  • A current and an updated course syllabus with course objectives aligned to the strategies discussed in the FLC and Motivation & Mindset Summit
  • (Re)designed assessment(s) or assignment(s) with a corresponding rubric or grading criteria that align with the strategies discussed in the FLC and Motivation & Mindset Summit
  • (Re)designed course materials and content that align with the strategies discussed in the FLC and Motivation & Mindset Summit

Selection and Application Process

• The selection committee will not consider late or incomplete applications for any reason.
• Deadline for application to FLC: September 6, 2020, midnight.
• Selection is competitive.
• Selection is based on eligibility and answers to the application questions.
• The complete application must be submitted electronically.
• If accepted to the FLC, your commitment to participate must be received by September 27, 2020, at midnight. If the commitment is not received in this timeframe, your spot will be awarded to the next qualified applicant.