Working Group: Courageous Community Conversations
Summer, 2024
Ron Swain (Facilitator) (Southwestern), Anene Ejikeme (Trinity), Lavinia Roberts (Hendrix) and Alex Serna-Wallender (Trinity)
Setting the Stage for Inclusivity: A Scenarios Workshop for Faculty of All Academic Disciplines and Career Levels
Summer, 2024
Leslie Wingard Cunningham (facilitator) (WLU), Patricia Herrera (Richmond), Wilson Terrell, Jr. (Trinity) and Maha Zewail-Foote (Southwestern)
Reading Group: Spark of Learning. Author: Sarah Rose Cavanagh
Summer, 2024
Cinnamon Stetler (Facilitator) (Furman), Richie Trentheim (Rhodes), Laura Chinchilla (Centre), McAllister Stephens (Centre), Anastasia Chaky (Sewanee), Mistie Watkins (Rollins), Daniel Ashley (Spelman), Molly Mata (Trinity) and Meghan Slining (Furman)
Reading Group: Teach Students How to Learn
Authors: Saundra Yancy McGuire with Stephanie McGuire
Summer, 2024
Dr. Jean Schwab (Facilitator) (Furman University) and Dr. Kelsey Harp (Facilitator) (Furman University), Layne Porta (Rollins), Phan Truong (Hendrix), Jason Surian (Rollins), Deborah Skok (Hendrix) and Anne Carlson (Spelman)
Reading Group: Teaching Climate Change: Science, Stories, Justice
Authors: Vandana Singh
Summer, 2024
Kylie Korsnack (Facilitator) (University of Richmond), Nancy Chick (Rollins College), Mary Finley-Brook (University of Richmond), Eva Marie Cadavid (Centre College), Daniel Hart (University of Richmond), Elizabeth Outka (University of Richmond), Elizabeth Pettinaroli (Rhodes College), Steph Spera (University of Richmond), Mike Winiski (Furman University) and Kitty Maynard (University of Richmond).
Working Group: Women’s Leadership Development
Summer, 2024
Dr. Rashna Richards (Facilitator) (Rhodes College), Dayo Abah (Washington and Lee), Kerry Bechtel (Southwestern), Linda Boland (Richmond), Genelle Gertz (Washington and Lee), Melody Lehn (Sewanee), Elizabeth Thomas (Rhodes) and Gabby Vidal-Torreira (Hendrix)
Workshop: Applying Adaptive and Interactive Learning Practices in Undergraduate Statistics Courses
Summer, 2023
Denny Garvis (Facilitator) (WLU), Zoila Ponce de Leon (Facilitator) (WLU) and Lilla Orr (Richmond)
Instruction in undergraduate Statistics courses has consistently emphasized the recommendation that students “learn statistics by doing statistics.” Consistent with this practical advice, substantial empirical evidence from the learning science literature supports the application of adaptive and interactive learning pedagogies as specific recommendations for undergraduate Statistics courses. One primary emphasis in this 2023 ACS Workshop will be introducing and demonstrating the adaptive learning processes embedded in the Statistics courseware materials created and supported by the Open Learning Initiative (OLI), a flagship project of the Simon Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University. Another Workshop focus will be on interactive projects and assignments for which timely and substantial instructional feedback is provided to student learners. Both new and experienced Statistics instructors could find beneficial pedagogical solutions and impactful course improvements by adopting these practices for their courses. Potential takeaways from this Workshop include new teaching plans, lab activities, projects, or course discussion materials.
Reading Group: Being Human in STEM: Partnering with Students to Shape Inclusive Practices and Communities.
Summer, 2023
Kristen Cecala (Facilitator) (Sewanee), Kate Cammack (Facilitator) (Sewanee), Courtney Hatch (Hendrix), January Haile (Centre), Kristen Fulfer (Centre), Jennifer Muzyka (Centre), Barbara Lom (Davidson) and Kimberly Brien (Rhodes)
The Being Human in STEM (HSTEM) Initiative aims to “empower students, staff and faculty to reshape their classrooms, labs and departments to create an inclusive and equitable STEM community that enables humans of all identities to thrive and flourish.” The 2023 book “Being Human in STEM: Partnering with Students to Shape Inclusive Practices and Communities” provides valuable frameworks and models for students, faculty and staff to understand, navigate, and advocate for diverse identities in STEM classrooms, labs, and co-curricular spaces. Our reading group will use this book as a framework to ideate, foster collaborations, and develop tangible approaches that promote inclusion, belonging, self-efficacy, and science identity at our respective institutions.
Workshop: Bullying in the Academic Workplace: What is Looks Like, Why It’s More Harmful Than You Think, and What You Can Do to Combat It
Summer, 2023
Jana Mathews (Facilitator) (Rollins), Mattea Garcia (Rollins) and Kerry Bechtel (Southwestern)
The unique attributes of the academic workplace—decentralized labor; clearly defined hierarchies; low faculty and staff turnover rates, and lack of managerial training for individuals occupying leadership roles—not only can breed tolerance of negative behavior patterns through the creation and promotion of exculpatory narratives (“i.e. that’s just the way [John/Jane] is”), but also serves as a powerful deterrent to direct confrontation: while speaking up may solve the problem, it also has the distinct potential of making things worse.
This workshop focuses on behaviors that lie outside the jurisdiction of current anti-discrimination laws in order to
1) educate participants on how bullying frequently manifests in academic departments and within their broader institutional settings
2) devise specific and concrete strategies for combating bullying behaviors from the perspectives of the victim, bystander, and supervisor/chair
3) create a personalized flow chart that links various behaviors with the person or office that is equipped to address them (hint: the answer usually isn’t HR).
Workshop: Chocolate Covered Teaching.
June, 2023
Romi Burks (Facilitator) (Southwestern) and Corey Toyota (Millsaps)
Working Group: Embracing the Prospects and Addressing the Challenges of Artificial Intelligence Represented by ChatGPT for the Teaching and Learning of Foreign Languages
Summer, 2023
Zhengbin “Richard” Lu (Facilitator) (Spelman), Gustavo Segura (Spelman), Pilar Valencia (Spelman), Rosalba Esparragoza (Davidson), Noella Cigarroa-Cooke (Southwestern) and Yanbing Tan (Sewanee)
The 2023 ACS Summer Working Group comprises six members from four ACS institutions. The group’s primary focus is on “Embracing the Prospects and Addressing the Challenges of Artificial Intelligence Represented by ChatGPT.” Their objective is to investigate the integration of ChatGPT in foreign language teaching and learning, as well as the potential impact of AI, specifically ChatGPT, on the field of second language education. Additionally, they aim to provide recommendations to practitioners in preparing for the forthcoming challenges. The group intends to disseminate their experiences and findings among colleagues from ACS institutions.
- Embracing the Prospects Final Report
- Embracing the Prospects Resource Links
- Embracing the Prospects Bibliography
Working Group: Listening with Purpose
Summer, 2023
Elyzabeth Wilder (Facilitator) (Sewanee), Jen Goff (Centre), Stacy DeZutter (Millsaps) and Lavinia Roberts (Hendrix)
Successful improvisation depends on agreement, collaboration, and mindful listening. In this playful and highly interactive workshop participants will engage in a variety of exercises that focus on active listening. In improv, actors must be present and in-the-moment, ready to both give and receive openly and organically.
Participants will learn the rules of improv before engaging in three improv exercises that focus specifically on active listening and working collaboratively. We will close the workshop with an open dialogue about the practical applications of the form and how it aids in collaboration, agreement, and mindful listening, as well as how these skills translate to the classroom and professional life.
Reading Group: Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities.
Author: Martha Nussbaum
Summer, 2023
David Wood (Facilitator) (Millsaps), Margo Kolenda-Mason (Hendrix), Liz Egan (Millsaps), Kathleen Wessel (Spelman), Gretchen Renshaw James (Hendrix), Sarah Brackman (Southwestern) and Howard Pickett (Washington and Lee)
The arts, humanities and basic sciences have played a crucial role in American colleges since their inception. But in their modern form since 1914, colleges and universities have become, in the words of Max Weber, “industrial enterprises” (Reitter 222). This turn toward operating as businesses has eroded the liberal arts’ historic role and mission. The required general education component where these courses are now typically offered has been reduced to two or fewer years of required study while professionalization and specialization whose underlying ethos is capitalism have become dominant. Nussbaum’s Not for Profit does not deny the value of specialization or career development in a college curriculum but alerts us to a “silent crisis” as more students, encouraged by overly concerned parents, chose majors based on job prospects. Under this criteria, a student becomes a subject of the job market rather than subjected to a more noble and important aspiration — a citizen of democracy. Nussbaum’s argument for a renewed liberal arts curriculum draws upon the methods of classical pedagogists such as John Dewey and Rabindranath Tagore to create a “human developmental model” of education indispensable for democracy and a globally minded citizenry. A renewed liberal arts curriculum for Nussbaum encourages critical thinking, creativity and intelligent resistance that can serve not only future employees but responsible, sensitive and informed subjects in an enfeebled democracy.
Workshop: Pathways to Diversity: Extending Our Reach
Summer, 2023
Carrie Frey (Facilitator) (Centre College), Beth Morgan (Centre College), Mary Girard (Centre College), Amy Frederick (Centre College), Andrea Abrams (Centre College), Rachel Walton (Rollins College), Christy Allen (Furman University), and Claire Strom (Rollins College).
The stories shared are the narratives believed. This project invited library archivists and faculty of art, anthropology, history, political science, race and ethnic studies and more to learn the strategy, the tools, and the multi-media technique from librarians and faculty who have been doing this work at Centre College, Rollins College, Washington & Lee University, and Furman University since 2018.
Working Group: Strengthening the Arts and Humanities across ACS Schools
Summer, 2023
Genelle Gertz (Facilitator) (WLU) Leigh Lassiter-Counts (Hendrix), Aaron M. Carter-Enyi (Morehouse), Cory Wikan (Centenary), Amy Frederick (Centre), Sandi George Tracy (Rhodes), Kyle Gillette (Trinity), Kathleen Wessel (Spelman), Johann van Niekirk (Centre) and Carol Fache (Davidson)
With frequent headlines now hailing the death of the arts and humanities, colleges and universities are facing a challenging environment, especially with regard to attracting majors and sustaining curricular programs beyond STEM or business. Increasingly, students are more likely to choose a minor in English, Theater or French than they are to major in it, even at liberal arts colleges. This working group dedicated to Strengthening ACS schools’ Arts and Humanities programs brings together stakeholders within ACS institutions who will study and brainstorm solutions for addressing declines in Arts and Humanities majors and enrollments. By the end of four virtual sessions, the group will have identified a variety of problems and situations, collected preliminary data across institutions, familiarized itself with recent studies and practices designed to increase student involvement in the Arts and Humanities (which include standards for equitable success in the classroom along with development of content that reflects the diversity of the student body), and developed a shared set of tools and/or goals for handling the challenges faced by ACS schools.
Working Group: Synergies of Team Teaching
Summer, 2023
Genelle Gertz (Facilitator) (WLU), Rashna Wadia Richards (Facilitator) (Rhodes), Fay Guarraci (Southwestern), Valerie Renegar (Southwestern), Andrea Lepage (WLU) and Katie Shester (WLU)
This working group gathers faculty from ACS institutions who are interested in learning about best practices for team teaching. Participants will discuss models of team teaching as well as strategies for active learning and inclusive pedagogy. They will also have the opportunity to workshop syllabi with colleagues from ACS schools to create new or revised team-taught courses. While faculty work on syllabus design, a session will be held for administrators to discuss the complexities of offering team-taught courses, in which models would be developed for facilitation of curricular and workload obligations of team teaching even in instances of minimal resource allocation.
Reading Group: The Prepared Leader: Emerging from Any Crisis More Resilient than Before
Author: Erika H. James and Lynn Perry Wooten.
Summer, 2023
Alison Marr (Facilitator) (Southwestern), Della Dumbaugh (Facilitator) (Richmond), Carol Ann Downes (Hendrix), L. Bellee Jones-Pierce (Centenary), Alex McAllister (Centre), Heather Russell (University of Richmond), Leslie Templeton (Hendrix) and Christal Schoen (Centenary)
In the 2022-2023 academic year, institutions across the country (and globe, for that matter) returned to in-person classrooms, advising sessions, colloquia, department meetings, professional conferences, etc. The three previous years required faculty to change and transform their classroom and other professional practices as they responded to new and evolving developments in and out of the academy. The fatigue associated with these adjustments often led to a deficient—rather than an aspirational—mindset about our work, our institutions, and our students. Thus the time is right to consider leadership roles in this changing space in the academy. The 2023 ACS focus linking passion to motivation and purposeful work combines with The Prepared Leader to provide the perfect platform to explore a reframing of our perspectives. In particular, The Prepared Leader focuses on navigating crises as opportunities rather than strictly as risks. As we redefine our roles as faculty members, particularly as we lead students who came of age in the covid era, this book advances ideas that will equip us as we simultaneously navigate day-to-day moments and develop longer term strategies. This balance relies on knowing “when to stop, when to step away, and when to make the conscious and cognitive effort to see the bigger picture.” We aim for this Reading Group to explore these ideas together to rekindle and rediscover our passions, recognize and leverage our individual strengths born out of those passions, and prepare now to develop daily and long-term “systems, protocols, and resources” for the future. As an outcome of these discussions, we will create a “Reading Guide to The Prepared Leader” for colleagues to use for departmental and institutional reading groups.
Reading Group: Universities on Fire: Higher Education in the Climate Crises. Author: Bryan Alexander
Summer, 2023
Brandon Inabinet (Facilitator) (Furman), Jennifer Cavenaugh (Richmond), Terrie Johnson (Centenary), Marian Osborne Berky (Furman), Gustavo Coelho (Furman), Laura Bain (Furman) and Julie Johnson (Spelman)
The Universities on Fire reading group will look at Bryan Alexander’s book to consider how the ethical southern university responds to the climate crisis. Across multiple institutions and departments (COM, Education, Theatre, Sustainability, Religion), we are asking questions about how we make campus-wide decisions, as well as how we invest in our own students, research, and service. Being positioned in the south, we are additionally interested in how our universities are acting as catalysts and partners with rural, poor, and BIPOC populations.
Schedule:
June 20 – Introductions
July 20 – Chapter 1: Uprooting the Campus
August 28 – Chapter 2: Doing Research in the Anthropocene
Early September – Chapter 3: Teaching to the End of the World
Late September – Chapter 4: Town Gown & Chapter 5: The World
Early October – Chapter 6: Best and Worst Case & What Is to be Done
Late October – Concluding Session (Next Steps, no new reading)
Reading Group: Writing With Pleasure. Author: Helen Sword
Summer, 2023
Kylie Korsnack (Facilitator) (Richmond), Kitty Maynard (Facilitator) (Richmond), Diane Boyd (Furman), Nancy Chick (Rollins), Nisha Gupta (Centre), Nicole Maurantonio (Richmond), Katie Troyer (Trinity), Satty Echeverria (Centre), Eva Cadavid (Centre), Lavinia Roberts (Hendrix), Elizabeth Outka (Richmond) and Molly Brookfield (Sewanee)
Helen Sword’s recent Writing with Pleasure (2023, Princeton University Press) takes on a difficult task: “to recuperate pleasure as a legitimate, indeed crucial, writing-related emotion” (3). Based on interviews and stories collected from academics all over the world, Sword advocates for cultivating writing practices that engage writers across five dimensions: social, physical, aesthetic, creative and emotional (23). Using Sword’s text as our guide, this reading group brings together faculty and staff who support faculty development at ACS campuses to think together about how to help ourselves and our colleagues (re)discover motivation, passion, and confidence in writing and scholarship. For those of us who teach undergraduate writing courses, we may also discover new tools and strategies for helping our students find motivation and enjoyment in the writing process.
Working Group: Writing Accountability Group
Summer, 2023
Nancy Chick (Facilitator) (Rollins) with 35 participants
Project: ACS Teaching Research Community
August, 2022 to August, 2023
Shane Pitts (Project Lead) (BSC), Brian A. Eiler (Davidson) and Priyanka Chakraborty (Centenary)
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Please contact Vanessa De Almeida Hook at vhook@acsouth.edu with questions regarding available reports.