Center for Instructional Innovation - Western Washington University's Teaching and Learning Center
2008-09 Featured Instructors
The Faculty GUR Group, led by Johann Neem and Pete Stelling, brought together six faculty members from different departments across the university in a faculty learning community that sought to enhance each participant's general education. Each participant both presented a lesson from his/her own GUR course and attended the lessons taught by the other faculty members during the academic year.
The Multicultural Faculty Fellows Program of the Woodring College of Education, led by Kristen French, is designed to support faculty in their commitment to transformative education that will prepare their students to enter the workplaces of tomorrow. Fellows meet to grapple with the sociopolitical context of multiculturalism through reading, professional study, self reflection and dialogue.
The North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership, led by George Nelson and Carolyn Landel, is a large, NSF grant funded project involving 28 school districts, two education service districts, four community colleges, and Western Washington University. The project was created to reform science education in public schools through teacher professional development, implementation of new curriculum materials, and development of learning communities in the schools.
Faculty Learning Communities
This year’s Showcase theme, "Faculty Learning Communities," honors members of Western’s and other local communities who are working together, across disciplines, to share and expand their scholarship. A core characteristic of faculty learning communities is a desire to work together for improved teaching and learning. This is often done without compensation, recognizing the reward of creating a better learning environment for students by increasing engagement, critical thinking skills, learning technologies, and teamwork skills.
To learn more about this year's Showcase theme, Faculty Learning Communities, read the following excerpt from Karen Casto's Introduction:
"Since 1999, the Innovative Teaching Showcase website has spotlighted the excellence of individual Western Washington University faculty members. This year the spotlight was enlarged to focus on groups of faculty who have worked together to improve the educational climate for students, and at the same time, improve their own professional lives."
Read more...
To navigate this year's Showcase, select the links to the 2008-09 Showcase on the left navigation bar, view the site details. For complete publication information, check out the Colophon.
