CAE Offerings
The CAE offers opportunities for professional and organizational development through various activities (e.g., workshops, group or individual consultations, annual conference, summer institutes) and resources (e.g., small grants, library books). Below you will find an overview of the CAE's offerings.
Workshops & Events | Professional Development Programs | Organizational Development | Individual Consultations | Resources
Workshops & Events
Workshops on Teaching & Learning
Every academic year the CAE hosts or co-hosts workshops for faculty and professional staff on a variety of teaching and learning topics. Previous topics include: Critical Thinking, Classroom Discussion, Active Learning Strategies, Classroom Assessment Techniques. For a list of upcoming workshops and registration link, visit the Workshops & Events page.
Summer Teaching Conference
Fairfield faculty and professional staff are welcome to attend or present at the CAE's Innovative Pedagogy & Course Redesign Conference. This is an opportunity to learn from and with faculty from across the country. For more information about this annual event visit the Conference page.
Professional Development Programs
Faculty & Professional Learning Communities (FPLCs)
Groups of 6-8 people from across departments meet for 2 hours every 2 weeks for a year to enhance integrative teaching and learning (University Strategic Goal 1). Over 120 participants since 2003. Applications go out mid-spring. For more information visit the FPLC page.
New Faculty Mentor Program
Every year the CAE sponsors a new faculty mentoring program in which incoming faculty members are paired with tenured colleagues. Mentors are selected from outside the new faculty member’s department in consultation with the department chair and dean. Goals of the Mentoring Program are to help new faculty: (a) meet and network with other faculty and staff; (b) become familiar with university culture, and resources; and (c) adjust to the new environment and become active members of the university community.
Organizational Development
The CAE is available for group consultations on a variety of topics pertaining to faculty, instructional (course and curriculum design, implementation, and evaluation), and organizational development (focus on the facilitation and implementation of institutional strategic initiatives).
Previous consultation topics include:
- Designing assessment plans for courses, departments, programs and schools
- Planning, facilitation and assessment of retreats, meetings, events or initiatives
- Group or departmental consultations tailored to specific needs, such as conflict management and cooperation, managing diversity or workplace effectiveness
To schedule a consultation, please e-mail the CAE
Individual Consultations
(one-on-one conversations, informal or structured)
Mid-semester Assessment of Teaching (MAT) by appointment (Fall and Spring Semesters)
MATs are confidential, informal, off-the-record, formative feedback from your students about which processes in the classroom are helping them learn and which would help them more. For more information on the MAT procedures, please view our informational MAT handout (PDF).
To schedule a MAT for your course, e-mail the CAE.
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL); by appointment
Get started on generating a peer-reviewed publication on teaching and learning in a discipline. Peer-reviewed journals in which Fairfield faculty have published SoTL work include the following:
Other Consultation Topics
The CAE offers consultations on other topics as well. For example: course design or redesign, Core Pathways, teaching portfolios, IDEA, time management, conflict resolution, ...
*Confidentiality Policy:
To retain our formative / improvement function, we do not reveal which individuals have used our services without prior consent. We also do not advocate for or argue against promotion, tenure or retention of faculty.
To schedule a consultation, please e-mail the CAE
Resources
Faculty Lending Collection (of book & video resource library)
Our collection of over 600 books and other materials ranges from evaluation of students / grading, to general teaching guides, to the life of a professor. Find titles online (Power Search, location: CAE-Lower Level) or browse our shelves (between Library rooms 107A&B), and check materials out at the circulation desk.
Teachers' Bureau
The Teachers' Bureau has been taken off line during the 2011-2012 academic year as it undergoes review. Please look for an improved offering in Fall 2012.
Faculty Opportunities
The CAE is able to offer small internal grants for teaching & learning conference participation, as well as funds for Core course enhancements (Core-to-Major Integration Funds). Other campus opportunities include participation in the Summer Institutes on Integrative Learning and the Faculty & Professional Learning Communities Program.