FCI Mission

To foster a faculty culture of continuous learning and engagement.

Programming Topics

Faculty-led, faculty-driven topics for the 2020-2021 academic year

• New Faculty Orientation
• Fall Faculty Conference - FCI portion
• Virtual Academic Conference
• Special Interest Group (SIG) "Deep Dive" Cohorts
• SIG "Reflect and Responds"
• Virtual Coffeehouses
• New Faculty Reconnects
• Teaching Essentials Roundtable Discussions
• Virtual Faculty Writing Retreats (co-sponsored with ParkWrites and the Faculty Scholarship Circle)
• Digital Learning Labs (co-sponsored with the Digital Learning Team)
• Academic Leadership Development Series (co-sponsored with the Professional and Educational Development Workforce)
• Blended Learning Workshop Series (co-sponsored with the Digital Learning Team)

Special Interest Groups

FCI Special Interest Groups (SIGs) bring together Park faculty who have similar interests and goals related to their teaching practice; 27 faculty participated in these year-long communities. Topics might include: problem-based learning, teaching with technology, writing across the curriculum, case study method, virtual reality, etc. The following links will allow you to self-enroll in the AY 2020-2021 SIG Canvas courses and view content.

Virtual Academic Conference

On March 13th, 2021, Park instructors, faculty, and staff came together for the second annual Virtual Academic Conference to explore best teaching practices at our university. This year's keynote was Dr. James Lang, author of Distracted: Why Students Can't Focus and What You Can Do about it. Based off of Dr. James' work, participants considered ways to create focus and reach students remotely. Click the button below to view recordings, presentations, and handouts from the conference.

Professional Development

FCI's Teaching Essentials certification allows faculty to explore quick ideas to (re)invigorate teaching within their classroom. These fully online, self-paced modules provide excellent information and practical examples from the field, for both novice and experienced instructors. Each module may be completed individually, and faculty who complete all five modules will be awarded a Teaching Essentials digital badge, once they send their certificate of completion to innovate@park.edu. Click the buttons below to view the asynchronous modules.

FCI and Professional Education and Workforce Development co-hosted the Academic Leadership Development Series where leaders internal and external to to the university shared their leadership ideas and perspectives with Park's academic leaders.

Support for Technology-Enabled Learning

As the pandemic altered the way many of Park faculty teach and students learn, Academic Affairs, the Digital Learning Team, and FCI quickly developed and led the Blended Learning Course Design Workshop Series to assist faculty with a seamless transition from the face-to-face to online and blended modalities.

Scholarship Support & Community

The Center also collaborated with ParkWrites and the Faculty Scholarship Circle to co-host a Virtual Faculty Writing Retreat, where faculty came together to meet briefly in small groups and create scholarly/writing goals, work on those goals, then rejoin to share accomplishments. The retreat was so well received that additional sessions were added at the end of the academic year.

Keeping Connected

The pandemic also altered our ability to socialize, so FCI created monthly Virtual Coffeehouses for faculty to connect and enjoy each other's company.

Because of this global trial, FCI adjusted how we connect and collaborate with one another as well as ensure ease of accessibility to faculty development content so Park faculty continue to offer students quality higher education.

FCI Highlights

• Supported and continue to support Park faculty with teaching and learning resources as they adjust to teaching in online and blended modalities
• Hosted second Virtual Academic Conference with renowned keynote speaker, Dr. James Lang
• Successfully completed the administrative program review process and received much appreciated feedback from internal and external reviewers that will improve FCI
• Developed an evidenced-based, reflective teaching category for Park's academic journal, InSight
• Selected to presented and represent Park/FCI at the National 2020 POD Conference for innovative programming efforts - presentation topic: "Changing Professional Development: The Virtual Academic Conference"
• Conducted research and analysis for an FCI faculty engagement campaign (i.e., how to best communicate and engage Park faculty with FCI programming)

Impact to Park Faculty

• 65 programs offered to ALL Park faculty
• 29 Park faculty content creators and presenters
• 1,079 faculty participated in FCI programs
• 5,629 on-demand programming views

Impact to Park Students

In collaboration with the Communication department, FCI advised a student intern during the Spring II 2020 semester. This student created a faculty communication needs assessment survey which led to streamlined communication to faculty from the Center. In addition, the student intern created a proposal for the continuation of student interns within FCI who will assist the Center with social media as well as identifying "student influencers" who will help promote FCI programming to Park faculty and how participating in and collaborating with FCI will benefit faculty's students.

For the Spring 2020 semester, one student interned for InSight and learned editorial practices and publication processes. As the InSight Editor noted in her editorial for volume 16 (to be published Fall 2021), "So often, research on teaching prioritizes the values of the teacher, program, or institution, but students have perspectives on their learning that are just as valuable." Therefore, the student intern was invited to contribute a teaching and learning piece, from the student's perspective, that she felt strongly about. This piece focused on contract grading and will also be featured in volume 16. InSight intends to continue having student interns and inviting them to write a piece for the journal.

26 Park faculty were awarded certificates for completing the Association of College and University Educators' (ACUE) Course in Effective Online Teaching Practices; 92% agreed that after taking the ACUE course, all students can be successful in the faculty member's course and that the instructor can influence how students perceive their intelligence.

I received an e-mail from a student that said he is not the best writer, but he appreciated me taking the time to add more edits and comments to the paper as he had never had a professor do that before and learned a lot from the comments. That was nice to hear. - ACUE Example Reflection from a Park Faculty Member

I was already committed to my students, I am ever more so now and have the practices to support myself. Thank you Park U and ACUE. - Park Faculty Member's Response to ACUE Course Satisfaction Survey

Advisory Council's Impact to FCI Programming

• Led college/school faculty focus groups
• Peer reviewed Spark Tank, Teaching Innovation Fellows, and Scholarship Fellows blinded applications
• Promoted and participated in FCI programs

FCI Impact to Faculty...in Their Own Words

I enjoyed each one of the five [Teaching Essentials] courses. The resources are incredible and will certainly be beneficial in the future. Next week, I will look forward to working with Advanced Zoom Strategies. I appreciate FCI providing these insightful and useful workshops for educators. You have done a remarkable job.... - Malmstrom / Pirate Patch Adjunct Faculty

Thank you for sharing the [2021 Virtual Academic Conference] recordings with New Mexico State (NMSU). I sent the director of the "Small Teaching Online" book group this email... so they will be able to access the recordings. Again, I teach for Park University , El Paso, and I really enjoyed our conference Saturday. I know the group will appreciate it too! - Ft. Bliss / El Paso Adjunct Faculty

I was listening to "Up to Date" this morning where the Chancellor and Provost at [a KC metro institution] described their new initiative...where they were touting their new Faculty Development efforts. All of which were things [FCI has] been doing for years. Moving Faculty orientation from a one day event to a year long program. Developing programs for mid-career faculty....I’m so proud of all of you. - Professor Emeritus

Impact beyond Park

• Institutions are showing an interest in participating in the Virtual Academic Conference
• InSight volume 15 was published (CLICK HERE to view journal)
• Park Faculty Presented at the Enhancing Teaching and Learning Conference and Kansas City Professional Development Council core workshops (CLICK HERE to view conference program)
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Kansas City Professional Development Council Representation

Next Steps

A glimpse of the 2021-2022 academic year

• Redesign of FCI website with Trumba registration for FCI events
• Bring in Dr. Tracie Addy as the 2022 Virtual Academic Conference keynote speaker who will share ideas from her co-authored book, What Inclusive Instructors Do: Principles and Practices for Excellence in College Teaching
• Scholarship Fellows' learning communities
• Making Park faculty remote voices heard by creating the Remote Faculty Influencers