Each year, the Faculty Development Center facilitates the Furman Learning Exchange, an annual gathering of faculty and instructional staff to exchange teaching and learning strategies, professional development hacks, and research in support of high impact practice in and beyond the classroom. One recent event included an asynchronous Escape Room (with a timed mission, puzzles, and “promising practices” content curated from our community). 

Faculty who teach First-Year Writing (FYW) or Writing and Research (WR) courses can strengthen their writing instruction through the Writing Programs Institutes, led by Writing Programs Director Magdelyn Helwig. Each institute introduces foundational concepts from Writing Studies, provides concrete tools for teaching writing, and supports faculty in designing writing-centered courses. The FYW Institute builds around a one-week summer workshop followed by professional development sessions throughout the academic year; the WR Institute offers a shorter multi-day summer workshop focused on disciplinary writing. Both create a community of writing faculty who keep learning together well beyond the summer.

The goal of our reading groups is to enable small but sustained communities of scholars at Furman to work together to explore particular problems or themes through established research/literature, with outcomes that might range from new or revised courses to published work inflected by the reading and discussions that have taken place. Are you looking to expand your intellectual horizons through discussion with peers across the University?  Have you got an idea about a future book we should read? Suggest a reading circle book.

Our popular Lunch & Learn series involves brief and interactive presentations from members of our campus community on a wide range of topics – from teaching tips, to career development, to support for co-curricular experiences. Come gather with us over lunch to hear from campus partners about promising practices, relevant campus processes and procedures, and novel ideas to support teaching, learning, and scholarship. Have you got an idea for a Lunch & Learn event? Please submit your proposal and if you have any questions, contact us at fdc@furman.edu.

Our Learning by Design studios are focused on-demand sessions that explore a specific skill, technique, tool, or strategy. Watch these videos at your convenience and participate in a linked asynchronous discussion board.

This series of engaging professional development short courses is designed to provide space for important but time-consuming collaborative work that is often difficult to accomplish during the busy school year. During each MayX session, we sponsor several opportunities for concentrated professional development activity. Each hands-on, individualized course is designed to facilitate focused, guided activities that allow participants to meet individual goals and objectives. Course participation involves 3-4 concentrated sessions during the MayX term each year, with associated self-directed tasks.

Our institute is offered at least once a year for anyone interested in developing or enhancing their course design and structure, typically during the summer months. Whether you are hoping to start from scratch, make minor tweaks, or a major overhaul, join us for the (re)design process. Our institute involves a series of self-guided planning tasks and interactive synchronous sessions as we work through a step-by-step process designed to build a thoughtful, pedagogically sound course informed by the transformative power of liberal learning. Using principles from Dee Fink’s Designing Significant Learning Experiences backwards design process and universal design for learning, participants will have the opportunity to apply research-based teaching and learning principles to course design by: 

• Reflecting upon and refining teaching values and course learning outcomes; 
• Designing evidence-based class activities that engage all learners  
• Identifying assessment strategies to strengthen connections between student learning and course assignments 
• Connecting and collaborating with colleagues across campus. 

If you are working with summer research students to learn qualitative coding analysis—especially for data related to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)–and would like to join a cohort of faculty and student researchers learning the same methodology, the Summer SoTL Scholars program may be beneficial to you and your students.  For more intel email Diane Boyd.

Throughout the year, Writing Programs offers standalone workshops for faculty teaching First-Year Writing, Writing and Research, or any course that involves writing. Each session takes on a specific, practical topic and gives faculty a chance to try new strategies and trade ideas with colleagues across disciplines. Sessions are open to anyone interested, whether or not you have completed a Faculty Institute. Find upcoming workshops on the FDC Events Calendar.