Faculty Learning Communities

Have you been utilizing alternative grading methods (ungrading’) in your courses, or do you have ideas for alternative grading practices you’d like support in developing and implementing? The goal of this FLC is to bring together faculty who are interested in transforming their grading practices via the pillars of alternative grading. We will begin the year with a ‘book club’ using Grading for Growth by Clark and Talbert as a way of beginning the alternative grading process, and will allow time for individuals to workshop ideas about their courses with the larger group.

(facilitated by Alison Banka & Ainsley Vergara)

The Capstone Initiative brings capstone instructors and coordinators together to help develop an understanding of the various upper-level project-based courses offered at UGA. We will identify and promote best practices for project-based courses and explore the opportunity of forming collaborative projects between different capstone programs. Discussion in this FLC promises to enhance the student experience in these capstone courses and enable us to solicit larger/multidisciplinary projects for them by leveraging the expertise of not only a particular college or major but also the entire University of Georgia.

(facilitated by Jorge Rodriguez & Roger Hilten)

Only 14.6% of institutions surveyed offer any graduate-level service-learning programming, creating an opportunity for UGA to lead among peer and land-grant universities. This FLC brings together experienced service-learning faculty and Office of Service-Learning (OSL) partners to translate benchmarking data into actionable proposals: a graduate certificate in teaching service-learning, an annual showcase framework, expanded student recognition pathways and a slide deck with prioritized recommendations for OSL leadership. Participants will engage through collaborative data analysis, discussion of exemplary models and iterative proposal development.

(facilitated by Jon Calabria & Kathy Thompson)

To be effective, educators must not only master their discipline but must also learn how to communicate with their students. They must listen deeply, engage appropriately, participate in the moment, and think on their feet. Not surprisingly, these same communication skills are essential to the work of the student as well. Improvisational theatre is an approach that has been used in many settings to promote and improve robust communication skills. This FLC provides an orientation to improv techniques for faculty new to improvisational theatre and gives more experienced faculty a forum to expand their skills. As a locus for both experiential work and discussion, this FLC explores how the theory and practice of improvisational skills apply to pedagogy, critical thinking skills, and creativity.

(facilitated by Jennifer Marks & Jonathan Haddad)

**this FLC will meet on Fridays at 3:00 p.m.**

The Lab Partner Board Games FLC brings together faculty interested in creating, adapting, or exploring STEM-themed board games for use in teaching. We work together on multiple open game-based teaching projects at different stages of development, including initial conception, game design and playtesting, integration into courses, and testing and piloting ideas with students.

(facilitated by Brian Kvitko & Eric Rubenstein)

Join this FLC for opportunities to share and discuss evidence-based mentoring best practices, continue our ongoing project of developing and launching a mentoring eLC course for faculty and staff, and to generally foster a culture of mentoring across the university. Our goal is to provide resources and best practices in support of mentorship across UGA.

(facilitated by Melissa Robertson)

Are you a non-tenure-track (NTT) faculty member? This ongoing FLC continues to work on action items supporting faculty in NTT roles (e.g., lecturer, academic professional, clinical, public service, research scientist, librarian, etc.). Building on prior years’ work, the NTT FLC will focus this year on topics including our mentoring program, supporting new NTT faculty, building community, coordinating dossier writing groups, reviewing relevant UGA and USG policies, and providing relevant and up-to-date information through our Non-Tenure-Track FLC website. We welcome NTT faculty from across all UGA campuses and locations.

(facilitated by Sarah Jantzi, Lynn Abdouni, Justin Ingels, & Mary Songster)

**this FLC will meet every third Thursday, 8:00-9:00 a.m.**

Sustainability and Climate change are relevant to every discipline as we empower students to create solutions in many fields. This FLC will bring together interdisciplinary faculty to explore teaching sustainability with a focus on climate change. We will use our own courses as examples and opportunities for curriculum development and piloting new strategies, while broadening our own understanding of education and sustainable communities. We will explore the many ways different disciplines can engage in this topic, with an emphasis on the sharing and development of resources, opportunities for collaboration, and local application of global challenges. We will also engage in conversation around the role of education for sustainability in the face of increasing climate threats.

(facilitated by Tyra Byers & Jason Roberts)

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming healthcare practice, yet many educators are still determining how to best prepare students for this evolving landscape. This FLC brings together instructors from health-related disciplines to explore how AI can be thoughtfully integrated into both the teaching practices and the future clinical roles of healthcare professionals.  Participants will examine two complementary areas: use of AI as a tool to support teaching and learning as well as the role of AI in health-related professional practice.  Activities will include collaborative discussions, hands-on exploration of AI tools, and the development of practical teaching resources.

(facilitated by Alison Morrison)