Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) are groups of teaching faculty, led by one or more faculty facilitators, who meet regularly to work together in an active, collaborative program on a pedagogical or curricular topic of interest. The program’s aim is to support FLCs that have the potential to produce outcomes that bring meaningful, positive change to teaching and learning at Duke.

This year, FLCs are eligible for funding up to $3,000 and limited planning support to the facilitator. Learning Innovation will consider supporting FLCs that run from December 2022 – June 2023 OR from January – December 2023. Learn more about the selection criteria.

Questions? Join us via Zoom this Friday, October 7 at 10 am for an open Q&A session.

Let Learning Innovation conduct a mid-semester small group instructional feedback (SGIF) session to help you make course adjustments at a time when both you and your students may benefit. This process is designed to foster dialogue between students and instructors, and to offer students a transparent but anonymous way to surface their concerns about the course. Read this blog post featuring three Duke faculty who shared how SGIF improved their teaching experiences last Spring and then sign up to schedule your session sometime in the next two weeks.

Learning Innovation is currently accepting applications for the following three positions: 

All events are virtual and in Eastern time unless otherwise noted.

Thursday, October 6, 2 - 3 pm
This session will introduce instructors to the concept of neurodiversity and how course policies and course design can allow students with varied learning differences to thrive. Darla Swann, Ph.D., from the Academic Resource Center, will explain how neurodiverse students process information differently and how these differences in cognition affect the learning process. Attendees will be given strategies to address the needs of neurodiverse students (with a focus on techniques that help all students). 
Register Now

Friday, October 7, 10 - 11 am
Individuals planning to submit Faculty Learning Community applications are invited to an informal Q&A session to ask questions and get clarification.
Register Now

From Equity Talk to Equity Walk

Wednesday, October 26, 7 - 8 pm
Tia Brown McNair, Estela Mara Bensimon, and Lindsey Malcom-Piqueux discuss their book, From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education, which delves into design and application of campus change strategies for achieving equitable outcomes and provides guidance on building an equity-minded campus culture, aligning strategic priorities and institutional missions to advance equity, and more. 
Register Now

Book Release Event *IN-PERSON*

Monday, November 7, 5 - 6:30 pm in Perkins 217
Join Duke Libraries for a special book release event and panel discussion celebrating the publication of The Pivot: One Pandemic, One University, detailing how Duke University shifted everything to meet the challenges of the pandemic head-on. The author, Robert J. Bliwise, will be joined by three Duke faculty members profiled in the book, who will discuss teaching during the pandemic and lessons learned. Panelists include Thomas J. Ferraro (Professor of English), Omid Safi (Professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies), and Kristin Goss (Professor of Public Policy).
Register Now

What is Ungrading?

Inclusiveness, Diversity, and Autonomy: Exploring Prof. Flanagan’s Teaching Philosophy 

Duke's new Zoom cloud recording retention policy went into effect on October 1. Under the new policy, faculty will be able to retain recordings for five years. No faculty recordings will be deleted before summer 2023. Staff, students and other affiliates will be able to retain recordings for 180 days. This article explains how to manage your meetings in Zoom's cloud storage.

Bryan Center Studios is the central space at Duke for media creation and innovation. Designed for media professionals and the entire Duke community of faculty, staff and students, the Studio combines ease of use with professional quality equipment and services. Studio staff are available to support you and your students' video and audio production needs this fall. If you would like a course-specific studio tour and orientation, message the service desk to make an appointment or for more information.

Duke Pre-College was recently featured on the local show “My Carolina” in their “Technology Tuesday” segment sponsored by Lenovo. Associate Director of Duke Pre-College Programs, Nara Strickland, shared how Duke is inspiring the next generation of tech savvy problem-solvers. Pre-College middle and high school summer programs connect students to Duke guest speakers, researchers and resources, encouraging them to explore cutting-edge topics in STEM, humanities and social sciences both online and on campus.

Both Learning Innovation and Continuing Studies are overseen by the Vice Provost for Learning Innovation and Digital Education 

A monthly series highlighting simple steps you can take to improve accessibility in your class.

Did you know that a lot of common software have built-in accessibility checkers? These checkers can help you ensure you’re using accessibility best practices — such as incorporating alternate text into images and organizing headings properly — into your product design consistently.

Duke-supported tools that you use include accessibility checkers, such as:

These accessibility checkers are a quick way to improve the resources you’re creating. Duke Web Accessibility has more information about best practices for creating accessible documents, including more detailed information on how to maximize your use of accessibility checkers in particular software.

See the Accessibility Quick Tips archive for more ways to make your classroom accessible.