Description
The LMU Faculty Learning Communities (FLC) program brings faculty together to discuss ideas about teaching, teaching challenges, and educational research. Faculty interested in leading an FLC submit a proposal to the CTE, identifying a central theme related to teaching and learning to be discussed in-depth over the year. Each FLC group consists of 6 to 10 members, typically from different disciplines. The facilitator works with the CTE Director to organize a group. Typically, groups commit to meeting for 1.5 to 2 hours every three weeks for one year. Groups that elect to meet at the CTE will have food provided for their meetings. In groups that want to have in-depth discussion of books on teaching, each member of the group will be provided with a copy of the book to be discussed. Some groups may elect to meet virtually using Zoom video conferencing software.
Eligibility
Both tenure-line and term LMU faculty may participate in the FLC program.
Outcomes
All groups are expected to submit a brief report to the CTE at the end of the year. FLC members are encouraged to assess changes in their classes that result from participation in the FLC activities and group discussions, and determine whether improvements occurred in teaching and learning as a result. FLC members are encouraged to give presentations open to the LMU faculty through the CTE, engage in educational research, present results in publications where appropriate, and to apply for externally funded educational grants.
Compensation
A small stipend is available for members of an FLC who participate in a majority of FLC activities. Each FLC facilitator will be provided a baseline stipend of $2,000, distributed upon submission of the final brief report.
Application
FLC Proposals should be no longer than 2 single-spaced pages and describe the theme, facilitator’s background related to the theme and/or why they are interested in forming an FLC on that theme. Faculty should identify a key text (or alternative) that will serve as the basis of the FLC in-depth discussions. Faculty should articulate individual Learning Outcomes for members (e.g., revise course syllabi) and describe anticipated group goals, including ideas for assessing outcomes. Finally, faculty should describe the general structure of the FLC (i.e., anticipated activities and needs) and identified costs.
Faculty interested in being an FLC facilitator should email their proposals to: teachers@lmu.edu
Examples
2020-2021 Faculty Learning Community: Anti-Racist & Anti-Imperialist Pedagogies
In this yearlong learning community, faculty explored anti-racist and anti-imperialist pedagogies, as well as developed their understanding of the barriers to such work in the university setting. Collectively, they curated a reading list that grounded their discussions. The goals of this FLC were threefold: (1) To understand the history of anti-racist and anti-imperialist resistance within the university setting; (2) To facilitate conversations on best practices in anti-racist and anti-imperial pedagogy; and (3) To imagine a third university.
2021-2022 Faculty Learning Community: Access Pedagogy
Access Pedagogy is a Faculty Learning Community designed to explore and learn principles of universal design and disability justice and apply them to existing and new courses at LMU. Guided by feminist and anti-racist activist scholarship, our concepts of universal design and disability justice critique constructions of space, communication, and flourishing that reflect only a slim subset of human bodyminds. The goal of this FLC is to identify ableism at work in our syllabi, language, classrooms, and pedagogy, and operationalize what we learn to revise and re-construct. Individual faculty will revise their syllabi and teaching philosophy to reflect principles of universal design and disability justice.
Faculty Learning Communities
There will be three Faculty Learning Communities (FLC) running through the 2022 - 2023 Academic Year. These three FLCs will meet every other week (7 sessions in the Fall, 8 sessions in the Spring).
Title: Global-Local Initiatives
FLC Description: The Global-Local Affairs Faculty Learning Community (FLC) aims to explore the interconnectedness between internationalization (IZN) and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and the ways in which these initiatives can jointly inform participants' teaching, research and service. FLC participants will gain a deeper understanding of how IZN and DEI relate to and support each other. Through readings, guided discussion and interactive activities, participants' will learn how to tangibly put their new knowledge into practice by developing student learning outcomes and assignments for their courses.
Meeting Times: Wednesdays from 1:30-3:00pm
Facilitators: Roberta Espinoza, Ph.D., Vice Provost of Global-Local Initiatives and Jennifer Ramos, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Political Science and International Relations
Title: Transformative Pedagogy FLC
FLC Description: The goal of this FLC is to develop comfort with transformative pedagogical techniques, while building community among LMU faculty. In addition to co-constructing topics for discussion, this FLC will include topics such as: Ignatian Pedagogy, the tipped classroom, social-emotional learning, and the pedagogy of kindness. We will also spend time unpacking hidden assumptions about learning that implicitly affect our teaching. And we will discuss the technical aspects of teaching, such as syllabus writing, crafting course learning outcomes, and aligning assessments. At the end of the 2022-2023 Academic Year, participants will present their favorite teaching moment and submit their favorite syllabus, showcasing what they tried in the past year.
Meeting Times: Mondays 12:30-2:00pm
Facilitators: Karie Huchting, Ph.D. - Professor of Educational Leadership and Becky Stephenson, Ph.D. - Clinical Associate Professor of Educational Leadership
Title: Equity of Access = Equity of Experience
FLC Description: The way learners pose and attack intellectual problems is diverse and distributed: we all receive, process, and express information differently. Additionally, as the number of courses with online and technologically enriched components has increased, so have the types of content utilized in those spaces - resulting in the need for knowledge in accessibility requirements and best practices. Too often, in designing courses and assessment practices, we may neglect to consider the ways in which traditional teaching practices privilege some learners and disadvantage others. Through the framework of Universal Design for Learning and being aware of accessibility considerations, we remove the spotlight from any real or perceived deficits and resistances to foster a space in which all participants can stretch and shine. Faculty participants will learn to: easily leverage the Learning Management System (LMS) to check for and remediate student accessibility concerns, enhance video and presentation materials to better support all learners, and understand how thoughtfully using technology can support learner needs and preferences.
Meeting Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:00-1:30 pm
Facilitators: Katie Harper, Sr. Instructional Designer, and Susan Smith Bakhshian, Clinical Professor of Law & Director of Bar Programs