Becoming Students

Professors are trading in the chalkboard for a seat in a desk in a new teaching program at SCU.

Becoming Students
Some, not all, of last year's inaugural cohort members at their "graduation" party at the Forge Garden in May. Photo courtesy of Eileen Elrod.

School’s back from summer, and it’s not just University students getting back in the classroom. SCU professors also have a class to look forward to—and it’s one that they won’t be teaching. Faculty are lining up to take the Effective Teaching Practices Program course from the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), which SCU’s Faculty Development program has been able to offer due to a generous donor. Its first class of 30 graduated in May, and a new group started this fall. With the new funding, there will be 60 spots for the class of 2021.

“We’re excited about ACUE because their program is really well designed, built on compelling data,” says Eileen Elrod, Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Development. “In Ph.D programs, there’s little to no teaching training. ACUE offers professors the data on how to best design a course, to motivate students, to prepare them…the current research around how students learn is packed with new discoveries.”

And SCU faculty are getting their hands dirty in it. In the nine month course, there are 28 carefully curated online modules where the professors-turned-students find research-based videos and academic articles. Just like their own students, they’re scored on their understanding. Soon enough, it’s off to the races—the professors bring a new level engagement and confidence into their classrooms, and the students can feel the difference. This program is one of several SCU teaching initiatives moving toward a new Faculty Center (a Capital Campaign initiative) that would support continued teaching innovation to help SCU keep up with the changing needs of contemporary learners.

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