Pedagogy-in-Practice Program - Spring

The Dean’s office is pleased to introduce the Pedagogy-in-Practice Program. The intent of this program is to encourage and support course development and pedagogical innovation around our curricular requirements and priorities (WI, QSR, SSIH, SI, EL, FYC). We invite faculty who share common pedagogical interests to form working groups of 4-6 members and propose a semester-long program for sharing strategies for enhancing innovative approaches to teaching.. Ideally, the working groups will foster a spirit of collaboration and collegiality among faculty members that lasts beyond the funding period. The courses proposed need not be in the same discipline or topic, but the work within a team should target a particular curricular theme.

Examples of potential topics:

Designing courses around one of our specially designated course types identified on the CAP website: Writing Intensive, Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning, Speaking Intensive, Experiential Learning, First Year Course, or Social and Structural Institutional Hierarchies

Incorporating digital technology into courses

Incorporating inclusive pedagogical practices into the curriculum/classroom

Integrating team-based learning strategies into courses

Developing active learning activities for the classroom

Developing more inclusive STEM courses

Developing AI-friendly assignments/courses

For spring 2025, the Dean of the Faculty will fund up to five working groups consisting of 4-6 faculty members each to participate in this program. Interested faculty are encouraged to form complementary groups of four to six members. We encourage groups to include faculty from different departments, disciplines, and ranks when appropriate. Teams are expected to meet at least seven times during the semester to exchange ideas and workshop ideas around teaching and course development. Engagement may also involve classroom visits to observe implementation of strategies and provide feedback. These self-organized partnerships are meant to be informal and social, yet focused on developing ideas and gathering feedback about one’s teaching and coursework.

Guidelines. Groups may be formed within or between departments, programs, or divisions. The groups can also be formed within or between faculty ranks. However formed, the constitution of each group should be conducive to informed dialogue and exchanges.

Deadline. The application deadline is January 24 for participation in the spring 2025 semester. Applications will be accepted after this date if the program is not full.

Reporting. Each group is required to submit a short report describing the process and schedule of their lunches and exchanges, and reflecting on the value of the experience, including plans for implementing ideas. These reports should be submitted to the Dean of the Faculty within one month of the end of the semester.

Incentive. In addition to the Dean’s office covering lunch for seven group meetings (reimbursable by receipt or department charge if on-campus), each participant will also receive $500 for research expenses or a stipend.

All Hamilton faculty (those in tenured, tenure-track, professor of instruction, physical education, special appointment, visiting, and adjunct positions) are eligible to participate regardless of rank or employment status (full-time or part-time). It is possible to participate more than once, but not in the same semester. Preference in future years will be given to those who have not yet participated in the Pedagogy-in-Practice program.