Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs)
Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) are an effective approach to faculty professional development, particularly in addressing student learning needs. They support improved teaching effectiveness while also offering meaningful professional benefits for participating faculty. FLCs align with the goals of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) by promoting the understanding and use of high-impact, evidence-based teaching practices; supporting the integration of curricular and co-curricular experiences that enhance student learning; and providing opportunities for discussion, collaboration, and professional development centered on learner-focused pedagogy.
2026-2027 Faculty Learning Communities
The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, in collaboration with CETL, will support two Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) for the 2026-2027 academic year.
Topic 1: Career Readiness
Participants will explore trends in career readiness, engage with Career Services resources, and meet with local employers. Faculty will then redesign a course to integrate activities such as professional networking, workplace skill development, professional communication, career exploration, or employer and community engagement—helping students connect academic learning to real-world success.
Topic 2: Lectures That Stick
This FLC invites faculty to explore what makes a modern lecture effective, engaging, and impactful—whether delivered with high-tech tools or low-tech methods. Participants will examine research-based strategies, structures, and techniques that support learning through lecture, challenging the notion that lecturing is outdated. Ideal for faculty who value traditional pedagogy and want to refine their approach, this community will focus on intentional design, audience engagement, and practical improvements to lecture delivery.
Members and Topics/Interests
TBD
Past Faculty Learning Communities
Topic 1: Teaching and Wellbeing
Transforming teaching while promoting well-being for both faculty and students is the focus of the Faculty Learning Community (FLC) on Teaching and Well-Being. This FLC is designed for faculty seeking innovative ways to reduce stress, improve personal well-being, and enhance their courses. The FLC will foster engagement, balance, and positive outcomes for both faculty and students. In the first half, participants will explore frameworks that theorize the intersection of well-being practices and effective pedagogy. In the second half, faculty will apply these insights to redesign syllabi, develop low-stress assessments, or implement other course improvements tailored to their goals. The FLC is open to faculty from all disciplines and provides a supportive space for discussion, reflection, and tangible results. Deliverables will include a reimagined course component or teaching resource to share with the group and beyond. This is an opportunity to cultivate both professional growth and a renewed sense of purpose in your teaching.
Topic 2: High Impact Practices FLC
The Faculty Learning Community (FLC) on High-Impact Practices (HIPs) is designed to empower faculty with the knowledge and tools to integrate HIPs into their courses. These practices, identified by the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U), have been shown to enhance student engagement, learning, and success. Participants will explore HIPs such as service-learning, learning communities, collaborative assignments, research with faculty, collaborative projects, and culminating senior experiences, with additional emphasis on strategies tailored for General Education and first-year courses. Through readings, discussions, and peer collaboration in the first half, participants will deepen their understanding of HIPs and their impact on teaching and learning. In the second half, faculty will apply these insights by redesigning an existing course to incorporate at least one HIP. By the end of the program, participants will have a redesigned course ready to implement and a deeper appreciation for how HIPs can transform the learning experience for their students.
Members and Topics/Interests
Topic: Teaching and Well-Being, Facilitator: Joe Weaver
- Emily Beard-Bohn (English), Linkage between meditation and writing
- Beth Roe (Nursing), Improving faculty physical and emotional well-being
- Rosina Hassoun (Sociology), Shift Sociology of Medicine course focus toward social determinants of well-being
- Curtis Grosse (Mathematics), Strategies for alleviating students’ struggles and frustrations
- Melissa Hobart (Communication), Improving faculty well-being
- Joe Weaver (Psychology), Develop scaffolding to support student success and well-being
- Leticia Grutzmann (Music), Incorporating teaching practices that reduce student stress
- Ryan Rigda (Communication), Boundaries, Burnout, & Interpersonal Relationships in the Collegiate Speech and Debate Community
Topic: High Impact Practices, Facilitator: Aneesha Gogineni
- Aneesha Gogineni (Mechanical Engineering), Integrate real-world, community-based case studies into engineering courses
- Ashley Sanders (Social Work), Incorporate HIPs into a youth services elective
- Warren Fincher (Sociology), Align all elements of LS 101 to support HIP community service project
- Gary Lange (Biology), Exploring HIPs for BIOL 370
FLC Topic 1: Digital Literacy/Digital Humanities
This FLC concentrated on enhancing "Digital Literacy/Digital Humanities" within our academic offerings. Digital Literacy involves teaching students in any discipline not only how to use technology (including Artificial Intelligence tools) effectively, but also how to critically understand, analyze, and create digital content. A central aim is to equip students with the competencies essential for thriving in environments characterized by pervasive digital communication, information exchange, and digital-centric work processes. Digital Humanities is the application of technological tools and computational methods to the study of culture, history, and/or literature. The goal is for students to use technology to explore interesting and complex humanistic problems and, at the same time, assess our technological society using humanistic methods of reading and analysis. Faculty members investigated strategies to integrate the use and/or study of digital technologies into their course design, potentially fostering interdisciplinary collaborations that could lead to innovative teaching methodologies and research insights.
FLC Topic 2: Alternative Grading Methodologies
The second FLC explored the development and implementation of alternative grading models. Participants engaged in a comprehensive review of non-traditional grading approaches, including but not limited to Mastery Grading, Specifications Grading, Standards-Based Grading, and Ungrading. This exploration intended to challenge conventional assessment paradigms and encourage the adoption of grading strategies that promote a deeper level of student engagement and learning. FLC members designed and applied an alternative grading scheme tailored to their specific course objectives, thereby contributing to a more diverse and inclusive evaluative framework within the university's educational landscape.
Members and Topics/Interests
July-December 2024
Topic: Alternative Grading, Facilitator: Grace McClurkin
- Leticia Grutzman (MUS), Student Perception of Alt Grading
- Bonnie Harmer (NURS), Competency-Based Grading in Nursing
- Ken Luzynski (BIOL), Simplify Specs Grading System for Genetics
- Grace McClurkin (MATH), Create Alt Grading System for 400 Geometry
- Joshua Mike (MATH), Problem-Based Probability and Statistics Course
- Chris Servant (MATH), SBG & Active Learning in Biostatistics Course
Fall/Winter 2024-2025
Topic: Alternative Grading, Facilitator: Colin Wood
- Poonam Dharam (CS), Alt Grading in CIS 116 & 216
- Phillip Hanson (ART), Employ Alt Grading in Art Courses
- Julie Keil (PS), Create AI-proof Assessment for PS 130 World Politics
- Kevin Lorentz (PS), SBG for PS118; Specs for Moot Court
- Colin Wood (MUS), Mastery Grading in MUS 111
Topic: Digital Literacy/Digital Humanities, Facilitator: Kim Lacey
- Hannah Fazekas (BIOL), Using R in Freshman Biology
- Aneesha Gogineni (ME), AI in Engineering: Writing & Tutorial
- Kim Lacey (ENGL), Integrating DL into Humanities
- Anne Tapp Jaska (TE), Integrating AI into DL/DH
- Brian Maricle (BIOL), Using R in Freshman Biology
- Jill Waliczek (TE), Integrating AI into Educational Leadership
The focus of this year’s FLCs was to examine the impact of emerging technologies on higher education and develop creative and effective pedagogical approaches that support students’ learning needs.
ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence (AI) applications are already being used by students to complete traditional college assignments, and observers expect that these technologies will quickly become more common and more powerful. The implications for higher education are significant, and many universities are moving quickly to adapt teaching methods and curricula to this new reality. Moreover, these technologies will likely have dramatic impacts in the workplace, with implications on how universities prepare students for their careers.
The learning communities examined and discussed strategies for how individual faculty or departments can revise teaching methods, course design, or curriculum in response to these emerging AI technologies. Each member developed their own implementable project, such as a course redesign, new assignment(s), a curricular proposal, or a resource for other faculty.
Members and Topics/Interests
July-December 2023
- George Corser, ChatGPT in Pedagogy and Studying
- Kevin Meyer, Adapting and incorporating to AI in the classroom
- Emily Larocque, Incorporating Virtual Reality (VR) to Improve Student Competency in Patient Assessment
- Sherry Kaufman, Use of virtual reality to increase classroom participation and enjoyment
- Phillip Hanson [facilitator], Ethics/Responsible use in teaching with AI integration
- Blake Johnson, Embracing AI in Education: Opportunities, Risks, and Responsible Information
- Kimberly Lacey, Emerging Technologies and ethical concerns as they become more advanced. What should human-computer collaboration look like?
- Teri Hill, How might AI relieve the load of faculty feedback and provide more consistency? At the same time, how will the students’ use of AI affect assignment design and assessment?
Fall/Winter 2023-2024
- Anne Tapp [facilitator], Developing effective pedagogical approaches that are supportive of students’ learning needs within a collaborative team.
- James Hitt, Ethics and Policy on Transformative AI Technology- ethical dimensions and discipline-specific concerns to outline reasonable implementations of these present technologies
- Christopher Giroux, AI and the Composing Process- using this technology for brainstorming, final editing, and peer review to facilitate learning
- Veronika Drake, AI in Linguistics Classes- revising assignment, especially those that are writing-heavy, so that they cannot be completed exclusively with AI
- Gary Lange, How to adopt AI to facilitate deeper learning of key biological concepts
- Bonnie Harmer, Using AI to Enhance Nursing Education and Practice
- Kenneth Luzynski, Robo-Teachers and Cyborg Students: Navigating the Implications of AI in Education and Science Writing
- Daniel Gates, Specifically Human Intelligences in Humanities Classes, Ethics and Responsible Use
- Warren Fincher, AIs as Enabling New Horizons in Teaching and Reframing Writing Exercises in the Classroom
- Brittany Collins, Learning and Implementing AI In a Communication Course
2022 to 2023 Faculty Learning Communities (106KB)
The Mid-Career/Senior Faculty Learning Community (FLC)
focused on examining the impact of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on teaching. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are topics that have received considerable attention in our current social environment. Many of our national associations have highlighted the importance of including DEI in the curriculum of higher education courses. In addition, faculty members are being asked to assist students in becoming culturally competent. As a result of this and the diversification of our student body, faculty members are considering how to ensure that they meet the needs of their students. This Faculty Learning Community (FLC) encouraged faculty members to engage with the content of their curriculum in ways that ensure that all students feel welcomed and valued in their academic spaces.
Members
- Brittany Collins, Communication
- Melissa Garmo, Criminal Justic
- Emily Beard-Bohn, English
- Veronika Drake, English
- Kimberly Lacey, English
- Annamalai Pandian, Mechanical Engineering
- Aricka Schweitzer, Occupational Therapy
- James Hitt, Philosophy
- Mark Giesler, Social Work
- Anne Tapp, Teacher Education
- Margaret Mead-Finizio, Theatre
The Study Abroad FLC
focused on the connections between Study Abroad and Experiential Learning. Study abroad experiences can be deeply educational, well beyond what a standard on-campus course can offer — students find themselves in an unfamiliar cultural and physical landscape that asks them to consider the taken-for-granted ways of life within which they were raised. And instructors are there to guide their students through this experience. The FLC members tackled question such as
- Are we equipped to help our students make the most of their study abroad educations?
- How can we best structure a study abroad experience so that students can gain the most from their trip?
- What pedagogical techniques and evaluation methods are the most effective in eliciting reflective growth from a study abroad experience?
Approaching study abroad trips as a unique form of experiential learning, this faculty learning community (FLC) focused on improving how we organize and deliver an educational experience through our faculty-led study abroad trips. Member Warren Fincher organized the resources they collected into a Canvas page that is available in the CETL Canvas Teaching Resources.
Members
- Shaun Bangert, Art
- Gary Lange, Biology
- Arthur Martin, Biology
- Sylvia Fromherz, Biology
- Marilyn Skrocki, Health Sciences
- Danilo Sirias, Management and Marketing
- Robert Kelch, Nursing
- Warren Fincher, Sociology
- Debbie Lively, Teacher Education
The Career Preparation FLC
was the result of a new partnership between CETL and Career Services. SVSU has worked consistently to ensure success among its student body. We have engaged with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) to develop a student success plan. This plan identifies several factors that impact student success, among them are Employability. We know that SVSU’s faculty are experts in their field and students come away from these classes with a depth of subject matter knowledge. Because we cannot predict what careers will be in demand in the future, as a university we are actively engaging in educational experiences that prepare our students for future success in our rapidly changing society.
This Faculty Learning Community partnered with Career Services to identify methods that will engage our students in curricular or co-curricular activities to promote Career Success.
Members
- Jadallah Jadallah, Accounting
- Cal Borden, Biology
- Jill Waliczek, Educational Leadership
- Babak Lotfaliei, Finance
- Margot Alvey, Health Sciences
- David Berry, Kinesiology
- Peggy Jones, Mechanical Engineering
- Christopher Nakamura, Physics
- Joe Weaver, Psychology
- Ashley Sanders, Social Work
- Thomas Wedge, Theatre