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Focus on Faculty
Courtesy of Southwestern
University
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A central means of strengthening
academic programs is aiding faculty to realize their full potential.
The consortium is accomplishing this in many ways. For example,
meetings of faculty by discipline take place as a means of enabling
faculty to share ideas on courses, pedagogy, research and other
matters while giving them an opportunity to explore specific cooperative
projects. Numerous faculty discipline-based groups meet each year;
in order to hold down costs, they usually meet in conjunction with
meetings of their professional associations.
Training is being provided
for faculty in the use of technology, thanks to a $1,150,000 grant
and a more recent follow-up grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
As a result of this grant, basic and advanced workshops are open
to faculty from all disciplines. At the same time, pilot technology
programs in specific departments are also being offered, with
the focus thus far on calculus, chemistry, classics, economics
and humanities. Thanks to another substantial grant, pilot programs
are also offered in foreign languages and computer science. The
pilot programs enable the faculty to attend an initial workshop
focussed on technology use and cooperation in the use of technology,
and participate in various follow-up, on-campus activities and
additional workshops. |
| The consortium has also
launched a major environmental and sustainable development project,
which is serving faculty and the institutions as a whole. Funded
by a $1,695,000 foundation grant, ACS is sparking cooperation among
the member institutions in course development, research and service.
Faculty are playing key leadership roles in this innovative undertaking. |
Courtesy of Davidson College
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More
on Consortium Environmental Initiatives
ACS also offers seminars and
workshops of special interest to faculty. Topics have included approaches
to women's studies, developing critical
thinking skills, computer-assisted language instruction, institutional
and program assessment, and African-American literature. Further workshops
are planned, and the consortium stands ready to respond to the interests
of faculty in organizing such activities.
Courtesy of Davidson College
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ACS offers an extraordinary summer opportunity for
faculty interested in strengthening their teaching. This opportunity
takes the form of a Summer Teaching and Learning Workshop, which
has been held each year, since 1992, on the campus of Rollins
College. In 1994, the BellSouth Foundation provided a 2-year grant
of $100,000 for this workshop and subsequent on-campus activities,
which focused on such topics as microteaching, teaching styles,
approaches to faculty development, and the effective use of technology.
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In this week long Summer
Teaching and Learning Workshop, faculty participate in a unique
microteaching experience. They teach one another and engage in extensive
feedback and discussion about their teaching approaches and styles.
Sessions are video-taped and faculty take home with them a record of
the experiences - something to which they can refer as they continue
to refine their teaching. Benefits of this initiative extend beyond
the immediate participants in the workshop, as numerous follow-up, on-campus
teaching activities are and have been triggered by this program and
faculty discover ways to enhance the teaching and learning environment.
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