This year, just as last year, the Fall Faculty Conference workshop will be hosted virtually due to COVID protocol. Faculty from both the School of Graduate and Professional Programs (SGPP) and The College are invited to participate.

Saturday, September 25, 2021  
8:30am – 9:00am “Coffee Hour” hosted by Across Campus Connections
Like the ACC in car wiring, our purpose is purely to create a space for you to make connections and get to know and enjoy your colleagues so that you can “keep your charge” and conserve your “battery power” for the work you do at SMU. Come as you are, leave with new friends.
Grab your cup of coffee and jump on the Zoom link early! This is an opportunity to gather and start our day on an uplifting note.
9:00am – 12:00pm Fall Faculty Conference led by Dr. Peter Felten. The 3-hour workshop will include a break and the presentation of the Brother Julius Winkler Award

 

Description

Led by Dr. Peter Felten, executive director of the Center for Engaged Learning, assistant provost for teaching and learning, and professor of history at Elon University, this interactive workshop will explore how to create relationship-rich environments that enhance learning, motivation, and belonging. The first part of the workshop will focus on practical, research-informed approaches to cultivate educationally powerful human interactions in classes — whether face-to-face, online, or blended. The second part of the workshop will focus on the importance and impact of significant conversations among instructors on their teaching. Through these conversations with peers, instructors are able to promote and transform their teaching and ultimately enrich student learning.

The workshop draws from Dr. Felten’s research and his most recent book Relationship-Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2020) by Peter Felten and Leo Lambert.

 

Learning Objectives

  • Discover the four principles of relationship-rich educational experiences
  • Reflect upon one’s current approaches to creating a class culture
  • Identify how to cultivate classroom environments and teaching communities that enable meaningful relationships
  • Consider how to create conditions that enhance teaching while also fostering a culture that enables transformational and meaningful change

 

Post-Conference Opportunity to Engage

Following the Fall Faculty Conference, CELT will host a book club dedicated to the book. Consult the CELT events calendar to review Book Club dates and times and to register – coming soon!