Spring 2025 Faculty Learning Community (FLC) offerings
Interested in gathering with an intimate group of fellow instructors a few times a semester to talk about your teaching? Want to stay up-to-date on conversations in teaching and learning? If so, we welcome you to join our faculty learning community (FLC) program! All faculty, staff, postdocs, and graduate students with an interest in teaching are welcome to join us.
Our common read for spring semester: A Pedagogy of Kindness (author Catherine Denial) articulates a fresh vision for teaching, one that focuses on ensuring justice, believing people, and believing in people. Offering evidence-based insights and drawing from her own rich experiences as a professor, Denial offers practical tips for reshaping syllabi, assessing student performance, and creating trust and belonging in the classroom.
UA library link: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uaz/detail.action?docID=30858598
[Note: The library has a limited number of copies. Please use the download PDF chapter link to save to your hard drive. The pdf does not expire. The download limit resets each day, so it might take 3 days to download the entire book. You do need to close your browser to reset the download limit each day. Please do NOT use the download book function.]
We will also have a variety of other topics.
FLCs will meet 6 times during spring semester. Meetings are the weeks of January 27, February 10, February 24, March 17, March 31, and April 14.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Please email Kate Bunton (bunton@arizona.edu) with any questions.
FLC Spring Schedule:
| Days/Times | Topics and Facilitators |
Tuesday 9-10 am ZOOM | Using AI in Inclusive Pedagogy This FLC is perfect for anyone who is new to the AI conversation, looking for an FLC that is a light lift and wants to laugh, socialize and be inspired as we focus on main takeaways from Teaching with AI: A practical guide to a new era of human learning. We haven't read this book yet and having you here to dive into this text with us is a great way to connect with others across campus, align your teaching with AI and inclusive instructional practices, and crowdsource ideas on the benefits and challenges of using AI in your learning landscapes - and no, we didn't use AI to write this - but maybe we should have! UA Library Link to Text: Teaching with AI: A practical guide to a new era of human learning Kathy Broneck |
Tuesday 10:30-11:30 am Zoom | Explore the concepts found within Catherine Denial’s A Pedagogy of Kindness with others! Her book explores ways to be kind to yourself as the instructor, demonstrate kindness to your students through your syllabus, to sit with the many ways kindness and learning can be achieved in assessment, and to establish kindness as a principle in your classrooms. This FLC hopes to take these larger concepts and turn them into practical and small changes that you can bring into your personal approaches to teaching. Florian Hafner |
Tuesday 12-1 pm In-person Chavez 307 dates: 1/28, 2/11, 2/25, 3/18, 4/1, and 4/15 | Playful Pedagogy in the Higher Ed Classroom This 6-week series will explore how incorporating play can motivate, engage, and connect your students while helping you achieve your learning outcomes. Through hands-on activities, you’ll reflect on your relationship with play and how you might authentically integrate it into your teaching practice. Come prepared to play and explore innovative strategies to foster student engagement and spark joy in your teaching practice. Jessica Hill |
Tuesday 12-1 pm Zoom | Open Educational Resources & Pressbooks Publishing Cheryl Casey and Cheryl Neal |
Tuesday 12:30 – 1:30 pm Jan. 28; Feb. 4; Feb. 11, Feb 18, Feb. 25 (first 5 weeks) | What’s in a Rubric: Assessing Students Transparently and Meaningfully Join our Faculty Learning Community focused on mastering the art of creating and using rubrics to enhance assessment in your courses. This collaborative group will explore strategies for designing rubrics tailored to a variety of assessment purposes, from formative feedback that supports student growth to summative evaluations that measure learning outcomes. Through engaging discussions and practical examples, we will break down the different types of rubrics—analytic, holistic, and single-point—highlighting their unique benefits and applications in the classroom. Participants will gain hands-on experience in developing rubrics aligned with their instructional goals and will learn how to use these tools effectively to foster transparency, consistency, and meaningful feedback in the assessment process. Aimee Mapes and Emily Jo Schwaller |
Tuesday 1-2 pm ZOOM | Explore the concepts found within Catherine Denial’s A Pedagogy of Kindness with others! Her book explores ways to be kind to yourself as the instructor, demonstrate kindness to your students through your syllabus, to sit with the many ways kindness and learning can be achieved in assessment, and to establish kindness as a principle in your classrooms. This FLC hopes to take these larger concepts and turn them into practical and small changes that you can bring into your personal approaches to teaching. Jeri Heileman |
Tuesday 3-4 pm ZOOM | Explore the concepts found within Catherine Denial’s A Pedagogy of Kindness with others! Her book explores ways to be kind to yourself as the instructor, demonstrate kindness to your students through your syllabus, to sit with the many ways kindness and learning can be achieved in assessment, and to establish kindness as a principle in your classrooms. This FLC hopes to take these larger concepts and turn them into practical and small changes that you can bring into your personal approaches to teaching. Jessica Hill and Amanda Parkman |
Wednesday 9-10 am ZOOM | Explore the concepts found within Catherine Denial’s A Pedagogy of Kindness with others! Her book explores ways to be kind to yourself as the instructor, demonstrate kindness to your students through your syllabus, to sit with the many ways kindness and learning can be achieved in assessment, and to establish kindness as a principle in your classrooms. This FLC hopes to take these larger concepts and turn them into practical and small changes that you can bring into your personal approaches to teaching. Yadira Berigan and Kate Bunton |
Wednesday 10-11 am ZOOM | Using AI in Inclusive Pedagogy This FLC is perfect for anyone who is new to the AI conversation, looking for an FLC that is a light lift and wants to laugh, socialize and be inspired as we focus on main takeaways from Teaching with AI: A practical guide to a new era of human learning. We haven't read this book yet and having you here to dive into this text with us is a great way to connect with others across campus, align your teaching with AI and inclusive instructional practices, and crowdsource ideas on the benefits and challenges of using AI in your learning landscapes - and no, we didn't use AI to write this - but maybe we should have! UA Library Link to Text: Teaching with AI: A practical guide to a new era of human learning Tim Ottusch and Arin Haverland |
Wednesday 11:30-1:00 pm IN PERSON lunch provided
Registration: https://bit.ly/4go6cxk | Creating Inclusive and Equitable Learning Environments for Native American students The Graduate College and the Agnese Nelms Haury Program for Environment and Social Justice are sponsoring a new FLC that supports the success and wellbeing of Native American students. Participants will build a community of practice that explores culturally relevant, Indigenously focused mentorship models and teaching strategies. This safe and empowering space will develop your mentoring and leadership praxis and build a circle of advocates for Indigenous student success. Maggie Pitts and Frans Tax
** 90-minute meetings in Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. will accommodate participant schedules |
Wednesday 1:30-2:30 pm Room 313, Science & Engineering Library | Integrating Social Justice and Generative AI in Teaching Sponsored by the SPSSI (The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues) Teaching Development Grant Award, this Faculty Learning Community (FLC) explores the integration of generative AI with a focus on social justice, equity, and access in teaching and learning. We will emphasize sharing best practices, exploring innovative strategies, and engaging in hands-on practice with AI tools. Participants will receive a small stipend for attending all 6 sessions and presenting their work at the final session. Sarah Grace |
Wednesday 3-4 pm Zoom | Explore the concepts found within Catherine Denial’s A Pedagogy of Kindness with others! Her book explores ways to be kind to yourself as the instructor, demonstrate kindness to your students through your syllabus, to sit with the many ways kindness and learning can be achieved in assessment, and to establish kindness as a principle in your classrooms. This FLC hopes to take these larger concepts and turn them into practical and small changes that you can bring into your personal approaches to teaching. Lisa Rezende |
Wednesday 3-4 pm Zoom | Teaching Students to Co-create with Generative AI In this six-session FLC, participants will explore pedagogical approaches for teaching students to effectively and ethically co-create with Generative AI tools across disciplines. Through hands-on experimentation and collaborative discussion, faculty will develop concrete strategies for developing Co-Creation Templates and guiding students in integrating human and AI activities, optimizing prompts, critical evaluation of AI outputs, and iterative refinement processes while maintaining academic integrity. By the end of the series, participants will have created discipline-specific learning activities that help students leverage AI as a creative collaborator while developing their expertise and critical thinking skills. Kathleen J. Kennedy |
Thursday 9:30-10:30 am IN PERSON
| Explore the concepts found within Catherine Denial’s A Pedagogy of Kindness with others! Her book explores ways to be kind to yourself as the instructor, demonstrate kindness to your students through your syllabus, to sit with the many ways kindness and learning can be achieved in assessment, and to establish kindness as a principle in your classrooms. This FLC hopes to take these larger concepts and turn them into practical and small changes that you can bring into your personal approaches to teaching. Brian Moon |
Thursday 11 am-12 pm Zoom | Let’s boost our understanding of AI tools and dive into figuring out how/when/if AI should be incorporated into teaching and learning. We will be reading Teaching with AI: A practical guide to a new era of human learning by Jose Antonio Bowen and C. Edward Watson. [ebook | audio book] and using a playbook of hands-on AI exercises. This FLC meets Thursday 11:00-12:00 during six consecutive weeks, January 30 through March 6, i.e., 1/30, 2/6, 2/13, 2/20, 2/27, 3/6 Gretchen Gibbs, David Herring, and Emily Jo Schwaller |
Thursday 1-2 pm Zoom | AI Tools for Transformative Teaching and Research Zawan Al Bulushi |
Thursday 2-3 pm Zoom | Explore the concepts found within Catherine Denial’s A Pedagogy of Kindness with others! Her book explores ways to be kind to yourself as the instructor, demonstrate kindness to your students through your syllabus, to sit with the many ways kindness and learning can be achieved in assessment, and to establish kindness as a principle in your classrooms. This FLC hopes to take these larger concepts and turn them into practical and small changes that you can bring into your personal approaches to teaching. Kristin Winet and Mascha Gemein |
Thursday 2-3 pm Zoom | Quality Matters The purpose of the QM FLC is to provide support for faculty who want to align their course materials, activities and assessments with their learning outcomes or to submit their online course for QM review. The QM Met standard allows students to know that their course has been reviewed by a QM expert and meets the requirements set out by the University and the national QM organization for quality online instruction. Faculty can highlight on the annual review or promotion packet that they met the standards on the rigorous rubric required to meet QM expectations.
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Friday 12-1 pm | CIRTL FLC This FLC is for postdocs enrolled in the CIRTL Postdoc Pathways Program. Lisa Elfring |
FAQs
Our learning communities are open to anyone who is interested in teaching and learning in the UArizona community! We encourage all faculty, staff, postdocs, and graduate students to participate.
Click the REGISTER button at the top of the page. You will be taken to a Qualtrics survey to fill out. Once you register, you are registered for the entire semester.
Participants can register for more than one group; however, sessions are capped at 12 in order to facilitate intimate, meaningful conversation. To register for more than one session, you will need to fill out the registration form twice.
Yes! Active participation is expected from all community members, so please plan to contribute your ideas, questions, examples, and curiosities at each session.
Yes! Participants who attend at least 5 of the 6 sessions will receive a certificate to demonstrate their continuing professional development in Edge Learning.
We offer FLCs that are in person, hybrid, and on Zoom. We are also offering asynchronous learning communities for the first time this semester.
Please contact Kate Bunton (bunton@arizona.edu) to discuss any accessibility needs you may have.