The Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning is delighted to offer a series of professional or faculty learning communities (PLC/FLC) and Communities of Practice (CoPs). These groups bring together instructors to offer support, share expertise, and work collaboratively to improve teaching skills. The interdisciplinary nature of these collaborative groups has been particularly helpful in helping instructors to expand their pedagogical practices when applying new methodological approaches, modalities, and technologies (Terry, Zafonte, & Elliot, 2018).
All faculty are invited to take a deeper dive into how learning works and the implications for teaching diverse students and disciplines at UC Merced. Participants will collectively develop a deeper understanding of the learning principles and support members of the community as they test out new instructional strategies and practices to facilitate learning in the classroom.
The following is a list of current UC Merced communities focused on teaching. As communities on campus evolve, so will this resource. If you are in a CoP not listed here or are interested in creating a new CoP, please connect with our team to start the conversation. Below are the current running learning communities.
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This new FLC will network interdisciplinary instructors who teach first-year students with the goal of developing a “shared language” (a core framework) and effective teaching practices that promote student success.
Participants will receive a certification of completion that can be included in promotion binders as evidence of commitment to the practice of pedagogy.
Open to: Instructors of 1st-year students (e.g., Math 05, WRI 01/10, Spark, etc.)
Fall 2023 Details: Meets on the third Friday of every month from 11:00 AM –12:00 PM
Please register if interested in joining!
- Looking for strategies to help your students become better writers without becoming a writing instructor? Join us for thoughtful conversations and hands-on practical experience with:
- - Framing writing to enhance student engagement
- - Designing effective assignments
- - Scaffolding activities to foster learning and providing feedback (efficiently)
- - Receive Certification of Participation
- - Access to a repository of resources
- - Priority consideration for the 2024 Course Design Institute
- Sign up
Are you interested in studying and/or conducting education research? Look no further! DBER is an open, collaborative, and friendly environment for people to read recent articles, present findings, proposals, or trends in education research, or find other people who want to collaborate and work together on research projects.
The goal of this interdisciplinary journal club and seminar series is to foster cross-disciplinary partnerships in education research and engage in current education research findings and initiatives.
DBER focuses on sharing journals (i.e., discussing and reviewing current literature) and research sharing for the seminar series. Also, we would like to transition back to in-person meetings.
If you are interested in adding an email to our listserv, then please email Marcos García-Ojeda at mgarcia-ojeda@ucmerced.edu.
References
Lang, J. M. (2021). Small teaching: Everyday lessons from the science of learning. John Wiley & Sons.
Terry, L., Zafonte, M., & Elliott, S. (2018). Interdisciplinary Professional Learning Communities: Support for Faculty Teaching Blended Learning. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 30(3), 402-411.
