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Opportunities to discuss teaching together

Do you want to engage with colleagues from across the University around issues of teaching and learning? Would you appreciate exploring new ideas and approaches you might use in the classroom? We invite you to browse through the opportunities below and let us know your interest in joining one of our communities to explore approaches and topics in teaching and learning.

Teaching Circles

A Teaching Circle is a group of faculty who come together regularly to discuss a particular topic of interest related to teaching. The most overarching definition of a Teaching Circle is a group of faculty who come together regularly to discuss a particular topic of interest related to teaching. Introduced by Pat Hutchings in her book Making Teaching Community Property (1996), the concept of the teaching circle has seen many decades of adoption and evolution, but a few characteristics are still core to the approach: the circle involves commitment, lasts at least one term, and actively addresses teaching challenges shared by the Circle’s participants.

For many years, CNDLS has facilitated faculty learning communities and communities of practice. Teaching Circles are very similar to these, but differ slightly in their relative informality and loosely structured approach to discussion sessions. The Teaching Circle model places faculty at the helm and combines elements of the more common CNDLS programming of cohorts (CNDLS-driven) and faculty learning communities (faculty-driven). Reach out to Kim Huisman with questions about teaching circles.

2024-2025 Teaching Circles

During the Fall 2024 semester, we will be offering a Teaching Circle on Teaching in the Languages. If you are interested in participating in this ongoing Teaching Circle, reach out to Peter Jannsens. If you are interested in participating in a Teaching Circle in Spring 2025, please complete this interest form.

Our potential Spring 2025 offerings include:

Faculty Book Club

Our faculty book club typically meets regularly throughout a semester to discuss titles pertaining to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, inclusive pedagogy, and/or practical pedagogy. Last fall, we read The Norton Guide to Equity-Minded Teaching by Isis Artze-Vega (Author, Valencia College), Flower Darby (Author, University of Missouri), Bryan Dewsbury (Author, Florida International University), and Mays Imad (Author, Connecticut College) (Feb 2023). The book club is on pause for Fall 2024, and will convene again in the future. If you’re interested in participating in a future book club, please complete this interest form.

Faculty Cohorts and Communities of Practice

A Faculty Cohort is a semester or year-long opportunity for a small group of faculty to engage with colleagues across the university to re-imagine an aspect of their teaching or their students’ learning. Community and interdisciplinary are two strengths of the cohort model. Together, participants explore a teaching theme while redesigning and implementing a course or activity. Themes might include well-being, blended learning, or inclusive pedagogy, to name a few. Depending on the structure and goals of the cohort, it might take place in-person or in a hybrid structure.

Although cohorts typically last one year, some provide the opportunity to continue as part of a Community of Practice. Communities of Practice gather to stay in touch with the larger group and extend their conversations around the teaching theme. Currently, the following cohort is accepting applications:

Engelhard Faculty Fellows Cohort

The Engelhard Project for Connecting Life and Learning focuses on teaching to the whole student. The Fellows program helps faculty incorporate health and well-being issues into the classroom.

More about the Engelhard cohort.

Looking for something else? Bringing faculty from different disciplines together is important to us. We’d love to know what kind of teaching community opportunity you’re looking for.

Get in touch