New Faculty Transition Program
The New Faculty Transition Program is conducted by the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning (FCTL), and has the full support of the University's Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, College Deans, Department Heads and Chairs, and Program Directors. This support includes a strong advocacy for the full participation of all new faculty members. This strong recommendation for participation is based on a belief that all professionals new to an academic community in general and a teaching institution in particular can greatly benefit from engaging in an exploration of teaching and learning in a caring and supportive environment. The Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning in general and the New Faculty Transition Program in particular offer just such an environment.

The New Faculty Transition Program will engage you and your new faculty colleagues in meetings twice each month throughout the Fall and Spring semesters. The topics covered in many of the sessions are focused on the most important aspect of Ferris State University's mission – namely, student learning. Each session will be divided into three parts:

  • Part I: Social time
  • Part II: An informal discussion of any transition or teaching issues that you may have
  • Part III: A presentation followed by discussion of a teaching and learning topic.


The 2011-2012 NFTP schedule

Fall 2011 Semester
September 15, 2011

Learner-Centered Teaching in a Subject-Oriented Academic World
Facilitator:  Brendan Callahan

We’ll consider what constitutes learner-centered teaching and how to transform our teaching from teacher-centered to learner-centered.  You will be able to distinguish between the two perspectives and will gain or develop at least three new ways to make your courses learner-centered.

September 29, 2011

Presentation Zen
Facilitator:  Bea Griffith-Cooper
 
This session is based on the book of the same title by Garr Reynolds (2008).  We will look at Reynolds' key findings, explore Daniel Pink's theories on the conceptual age and how this new age calls more on the right hemisphere of our brain, and look at what makes messages stick.  At the end of the session, you will be able to (1) describe Garr Reynolds' design principles for building, for example, PowerPoint presentations; (2) apply the process of brainstorming, chunking, and storyboarding to your course materials; and (3) identify Daniel Pink's six right-brain aptitudes.  Participation in this session will prepare you for the second and third sessions of FCTL’s Presentation Zen workshops being held October 7 and 14, 2010, from 3-5 PM.  Should you choose to attend the October sessions, they will prepare you to (1) apply the design principles to your own presentation materials; and (2) present your design to your peers.

October 13, 2011

Strengthening Learning Through an Inclusive Approach to Teaching
Facilitator:  Todd Stanislav

Discussion focuses on the various types of diversity present in contemporary college communities and asks participants to be able to implement two ideas, strategies, or practices that have the potential to create a more inclusive learning environment in one of more of their courses.

October 27, 2011

Developing a Community of Learners in an Online Environment
Facilitator:  Mary Alkire

This session will focus on developing a community of learners in an online environment using three key strategies: Preparation, Presence, and Persistence. Faculty to student, student to faculty, and student to student community building will be explored. Participants will have an opportunity to discuss, practice, and take away strategies to foster a community of learners in their own online courses following the three “P” framework. Participants may want to bring a current course syllabus as a means of fostering reflection and growth for their own online course.

November 10, 2011

Strategies for Promoting Students' Reading Success
Facilitator:  Betty Stolarek

This session presents and models Critical Reading and examines the necessity to teach students to read within their fields. Participants will also learn how to determine the readability level of the textbooks and journal articles they use in their classes.

Integrating FLITE Resources and Personnel into Teaching and Learning
Facilitators:  Kristy Motz, Mari Kermit-Canfield, and Stacy Anderson

This session includes information about library instruction in its various forms, course reserves, databases, E-books, citation management, requests for new materials, and inter-library loan. It will focus particularly on how faculty can access FLITE personnel in helping them set up library instruction sessions and class help pages.

December 1, 2011
Effective Strategies for Classroom Management
Facilitators:  Mischelle Stone, Jennifer Johnson, Mark Thomson

As we all undoubtedly recognize, the college classroom is a dynamic interpersonal and social environment.  In this session, we'll reflect on the qualities that characterized our classrooms, and explore strategies and proactive actions that we can take to reduce miscommunications and misperceptions, and create a learning environment in which all students can be successful.  As a result of this session, you will be able to integrate at least two new strategies or actions into one or more of your classes next semester.

January 19, 2012

Navigating the Tenure Process
Facilitators: David Marion, Matt Wagenheim, Spence Tower, Stephanie Thomson, Dane Johnson

Tenured faculty will join us to provide insights and share experiences regarding the tenure process at Ferris State University

February 2, 2012

The Logic of Your Field:  A Critical Thinking Approach to Introducing Course Material
Facilitator:  Betty Stolarek

This session provides an overview of ways to use critical thinking in designing course materials. It focuses on introducing students to the Elements of Thought to give them a better understanding of the fields of study we teach.

February 16, 2012

Socratic Questioning; Knowing What to Ask and How to Ask It
Facilitator: Betty Stolarek

The way professors ask questions can either engage or intimidate students. Socratic questioning provides a way to help students delve deeply into class material, promoting greater understanding and retention. The Intellectual Standards will also be introduced as a tool to help teachers design and assess the value of questions.

March 15, 2012

Gathering and Using Formative and Summative Feedback to Improve Teaching and Learning
Facilitators: Andy Karafa, Stephanie Thomson, Betty Stolarek

In this session, we'll explore how to gather feedback—both on-going and end-of-semester feedback—from your students. We will consider how to use this feedback to make adjustments in teaching practices. You will identify at least two formative feedback or assessment methods to integrate into one or more of your classes. You will also gain knowledge of how the end-of-semester evaluation process occurs at Ferris.

March 29, 2012

Using Writing as a Tool for Teaching and Learning
Facilitators: Lynn Chrenka and Debra Courtright-Nash

This session focuses on best practices for using writing in the teaching and learning process. In particular you will gain ideas regarding effective design of writing assignments, successful peer review strategies, and creating and using rubrics. 

April 12, 2012

Reflection & Reconstruction: Making Improvements to the Classroom Experience
Facilitators: Todd Stanislav and Brooke Moore

With the semester nearly behind us, we now have an opportunity to reflect on our classroom experiences. We'll take time to consider what worked and what could be improved upon, and how this ultimately impacts our syllabus. We will identify two areas for reconstruction and work through a plan to make changes to our courses. For example, maybe you wish to align your philosophy of teaching to support a learner-centered environment, or maybe you wish to reduce the time you lecture. For this session, please bring a copy of the syllabus for the class you wish to focus on.

The list of topics is subject to change based on particular needs or interests of the new faculty members. Please let us know if there is a topic or issue that you think we should consider in one of our sessions.