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Faculty Development Center

Center Services

Individual Consultations and Classroom Observation
One of the most important services the Faculty Development Center provides is to consult with faculty on any teaching issues, from designing courses to active learning methods to assessment of students. The Center works with faculty across disciplines and has resources available on alternative teaching approaches, evaluation and improvement strategies and methods of working effectively with students. You may also request that the Center director observe your class and offer feedback.

Videotaping Classes
One of the most effective ways of evaluating your teaching is to observe yourself in action in the classroom. The Faculty Development Center can arrange to have your class videotaped, free of charge. To schedule a time, simply call the Center one week in advance. Instructors who use the service note that videotaping does not disrupt classroom activities and that students soon forget that the camera is there. Consultation is available and encouraged during your review of the tape. The Center can also arrange videotaping if you wish to practice the presentation of a conference paper.

Student Small Group Evaluations
To help provide you with student feedback on the courses you currently teach, the FDC suggests a mid-semester student small group evaluation. The evaluation takes approximately twenty minutes at the end of a class period of your choosing. The FDC director will visit your class and, after you leave, divide your students into small groups. Each group is given ten minutes to select a spokesperson, agree on what is working well in the course, what needs improvement, and what suggestions they have for carrying out the improvements. At the end of this time, the director records the responses from each group and then presents the results to you later in a private consultation.

Faculty Development Center Library

The FDC Library is located in the Center's offices and contains a growing collection of books, journals, and reference works on teaching and learning.