Watch:
8×8: Leaps of Faith: 8 Stories about Cultivating Complex Thinkers for a Messy World
Read:
“I highly recommend the FDI to colleagues who are interested in learning about and discussing innovative teaching strategies at the intersections of technology and pedagogy. If only one could participate every year!” Kristin Bidoshi, Associate Professor of Russian
"The FDI gave me a good opportunity to reevaluate some of the courses I taught this year, as well as envisioning my plans for new courses next year. Much of the content was versatile and had a place somewhere in my curriculum." Joel Lefever, Visiting Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
“Sessions provided a great opportunity to recharge and refresh my teaching strategies.” Tim Olsen, Associate Professor of Music
"The FDI was a very supportive environment pulling together teachers that want to improve the student experience. The facilitators provided a fantastic list of curated references and engaged faculty in the teaching techniques there were highlighting through activities. A must for any Union faculty!" Holli Frey, Professor of Geology
"Don't think about teaching even a single course without attending the FDI.", Younghwan Song, Professor of Economics
"Opened my mind and made me realize that there are strategies available to any problem experienced while teaching. Provided me wonderful resources to help kickstart my teaching career." Pradeep Gudlur, Visiting Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
“However you teach now, the FDI will open your eyes to teaching ideas that are probably new to you.” Doug Klein, Professor of Economics
“The thing I love most about being an educator is the constant challenge to engage students who come into a class with such varied skills and background knowledge. After this workshop, I feel more confident about trying new techniques and technology to (hopefully) inspire more of my students to push themselves, take risks and think creatively.” Barbara Danowski, Professor of Biology
“It made me think about teaching in new ways.” Helen Hanson, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
“If you are in a pedagogical rut, or looking to take a new direction with your courses, the readings and workshop discussions in FDI offer excellent ways to shake up your routine and develop alternate ways of thinking about the elements of teaching and student learning.” Kara Doyle, Associate Professor of English
“The program is full of helpful suggestions and examples for how any teacher at Union College might improve and enrich their teaching.” Mark Walker, Professor of History
“High-impact, high-quality teaching practices that will make your courses the most sought-after on campus.” Megan Ferry, Associate Professor of Chinese and Asian Studies
"It was such an amazing experience taking this program with all faculties (juniors and seniors together, sharing experiences etc.) and I saw that implementing teaching technologies to your courses can easily increase your performance and efficiency." Funda Dogruer, Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics
"The opportunity to share ideas with other faculty is really a big draw, but this needs to be framed in something active and structured like the FDI. This is not the faculty lunch, but something more." Jennifer Matsue, Professor of Music
"I appreciated hearing more about the student learning experience during the program. I found that my assumptions as to why students may not be learning were incomplete, and learned potential approaches to increase student comprehension of the course material." Rebecca Cortez, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Director of Engineering
“The FDI is about collaboration. It’s an opportunity for individual faculty members to think through their teaching as part of a well informed, experienced, and supportive group of like-minded teachers.” Joe Johnson, Director of Writing Programs
“FDI helped me re-evaluate some of the long held assumptions I had about course and lesson planning; but, most importantly, it renewed my commitment to seeking change where change is positively meaningful for a more engaging, more purposeful educational experience for me as well as for the students.” Daniel Mosquera, Associate Professor of Spanish
"With its friendly, receptive environment, the FDI program allowed me to revisit some of the most crucial issues in teaching from a refreshing perspective, in a dialogue with others, and with questions and ideas well supported on a solid repertoire of ideas, research, and technologies." Guillermina Seri, Associate Professor of Political Science
"Teaching is a practice, Stacie and Denise guide you through hands-on techniques to take charge of your teaching experience." Marianna Bergamaschi, Assistant Professor of Philosophy
“A transformative experience for novice and expert instructors who care about teaching and learning.” Maritza Osuna, Senior Lecturer of Spanish
“Beyond providing excellent practices and learning technologies, the workshop creates a community of shared support for reflecting on your current approach and trying new ideas.” Melinda Goldner, Professor of Sociology
“I anticipate that what I’ve learned about pedagogy will be helpful in my future courses. I found the presentations and our reading motivating, especially for revamping my syllabi and adopting other ways to give feedback on student writing.” Andrea Foroughi, Associate Professor of History
"After a very long term of teaching, the FDI was a really well-timed means of (re)igniting my excitement about what I teach and how I teach it. Working with Denise and Stacie—as well as colleagues across departments and disciplines—was engaging, fun, and super generative." Jennifer Mitchell, Assistant Professor of English
“I found the opportunity to think and talk about pedagogy with fellow professors really stimulating. The organization of the FDI was highly conducive to this.” David Cotter, Professor of Sociology
“Lots of ideas! Helped me identify small, easily implemented changes to help me engage student even more. Will keep me and my students from getting bored!” Joanne Kehlbeck, Associate Professor of Chemistry
“I think this is very useful time invested for faculty at any stage in their career.” Michele Angrist, Professor of Political Science, Dean of Studies
“It’s very helpful to get together with faculty from other departments to discuss how we can improve our teaching. We get so few opportunities to reflect on what we are trying to accomplish in the classroom and how we might better engage our students.” Carol Weisse, Professor of Psychology