READY, SET, UH-OH! Navigating Institutional Change: One Institution’s Strategy for Instituting Engaged Learning

Georgia College & State University State’s Designated Liberal Arts College (1996) Public University with Selective Admissions Approx. 7,000 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs 40+ Undergraduate Programs 30+ Graduate Programs 316 Full-Time Faculty – 75% with terminal degrees – 84% joined GC after 1996 – Age Distribution of Faculty Only 11% Faculty below age of 40; 37% between age 41-55; and 20.6% over age of 60

Context Understanding Context Mission Statement Strategic Planning Cycle Institutional Challenges  Related to graduation rates  Strategic response to NSSE feedback  Tuition funded institution Need to solidify our institutional niche AND… need to expand definition of the “liberal arts” mission beyond most basic thinking “Move the Needle” Project Constructing the Task Two-pronged campus discussion on engaged learning  High-impact pedagogies in the classroom  Engagement beyond the classroom Construct broader ownership beyond CETL Create Incentives  Locating funding for incentives  Aligning faculty evaluation to reward faculty engagement Commission gap analysis Formulate the ground rules

Identifying Campus “Movers and Shakers” Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL) Teaching Circles Office of Service Learning Problem-Based Learning Seven Revolutions Reacting to the Past Innovative Course-Building Group

Introductions Georgia College faculty leaders of “High-Impact Teaching” Project Scott Dillard, Professor of English and Rhetoric Steve Elliott-Gower, Director of Honors Program Julia Metzker, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy

Engaging Courses Engaged Citizens Implementation Assessment SERVICE LEARNING Fact Sheet Community Partners Faculty Committee Challenges Sustainability Workshops Incentives

WHAT ROLE-PLAYING PEDAGOGY CRITICAL MOMENTS IN HISTORY GAMES WHY DANGEROUSLY ENGAGING DEVELOPS CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS, READING, WRITING, SPEAKING, CONFIDENCE + + CHALLENGES NEW TEACHER ROLE LOSS OF CONTROL/CHAOS SUSTAINABILITY HOW I LOVE NEW YORK IN JUNE… MONEY (THAT’S WHAT I WANT) CAMPUS WORKSHOP REACTING TO THE PAST

Who we are … The Innovative Course-Building Group (IC-BG) is a grass-roots social network for learning that supports teaching faculty and staff across disciplines. We use civic issues as a catalyst for designing engaging courses that will result in important student learning. Our guiding principles … Time is valuable: gatherings are deliberately designed to be productive, meaningful, and enjoyable uses of this limited resource. Good ideas recycled, refined, and adapted become great ideas. Teaching and learning rarely happen in isolation: collaboration supports innovation. Our participants… Will design a course (and activities) ready to teach!

Engaging Courses Engaged Citizens Resources: Time & $$ Assessment Recognition Innovative Course-Building Group Workshops Interdisciplinary Stipends Small Grants Challenges Social Mentoring

Next Steps: Sustaining the Project Continue discussions through a visioning process, Provide incentives for faculty and development for campus leadership, Link engaged teaching to what our faculty value, Complete the faculty evaluation project, Celebrate successes through a series of publications that define and educate

Questions/Discussion Contacts: Service Learning: Reacting to the Past: steve.elliott- Innovative Course Building Group: Campus Engagement Initiative: