We believe that faculty are learners and as such, will continue to strive to improve their work. Faculty members develop over a lifespan of their careers and that each career span requires a different faculty development approach. Improving also means that their classrooms will become more inclusive and learner-centered. We believe that learning happens in community within one’s discipline and with others across the campus.
Guiding Principles
- Integrity: By paying attention to the highest ethical standards in all domains, persistence and demand for honesty, decency and fairness,
- Academic freedom: Current commitment not to compromise academic freedom; its advancement is seen as the foundation for any forthcoming faculty development undertaking,
- Teamwork and collaboration: Inter-disciplinary, teamwork, readiness to help each other, external partnerships, and capacity to create new fields of development paradigms.
Mission & Vision
Mission Statement
Invest in Yourself, Invest in Kardan University! (Proposed FDC tagline)
The mission FDC Faculty Development Center at Kardan University is to improve teaching and learning environment inspiring faculty members to achieve excellence in teaching and research across their career lifespan.
Vision Statement
Kardan University Faculty Development Center Vision is to cultivate a faculty-initiated culture of innovation and development for teaching excellence. We will positively encourage a community of sharing and collaboration to better serve Kardan University.
FDC Priorities
FDC’s role and purpose is to provide a leadership role on campuses in the ongoing investigation of University-level teaching and faculty development practice. The office will do so by fostering quality Scholarship of teaching and learning and many other long and short-term approaches. The various programs inculcated in order to achieve the goals are as:
Trainings, Seminars and Workshops
- To upgrade the knowledge and skills of faculty members in their field or line of work through participation in trainings, seminars and workshops.
- To provide opportunities for faculty members to network with experts and their peers.
- Support the faculty members in attending trainings, seminars and workshops.
- The trainings, seminars, and workshops referred to in this program are those that lead to the transfer of academic or professional knowledge and skills to the participants.
- The seminar, workshop or training must be directly in line with the faculty member’s area of development or line of work and should clearly lead to the upgrading of his/her knowledge or skills.
- The faculty member shall submit a post-training report/summary of activities within the training session after returning from the training.
- The application of training from FDC must be submitted to the VCA Office at least one week prior to the training/seminar/workshop for approval.
Foundational Programs
The goals of the foundational programs are to develop knowledge, skills, attitudes, and confidence amongst those new teaching members at Kardan University by providing three programs that promote standards for teaching, learning, and teaching with technology within the University, and encourage a learning focus by exploring who our students are, how they learn, and how different teaching approaches impact student learning.
Faculty Development program is designed to be flexible and convenient, offering faculty both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards for their participation. Program features include:
- Targeted professional development.
- Customization for individual needs.
- High Accessibility.
FDC Responsibilities
Explore the development and learning of 21st century college students and other contemporary learners which includes,
- Challenge faculty ideas on teaching and learning and use of technology,
- Examine various research and theory based approaches to college instruction,
- Support the implementation of evidenced-based and innovative approaches by instructors, and
- Assist faculty in assessing their instructional practice and using that assessment to refine their teaching approaches.
FDC Programs
- New Faculty Orientation.
- New Faculty Seminar.
- Faculty Peer Teaching Observations.
- Various summer week-long intensives (Institutes) on various topics such as Gaming Your Classroom, Flipping Your Classroom, Performance Task etc.
- Powerful Pedagogies: Course Redesign Institute.
- Teaching & Learning Bash.
- Teaching with Technology Symposium.
Inter-linkage with other departments
Through collaboration with various academic units seeking to achieve following goals:
- Provide leadership and support for innovation in teaching,
- Sustain the growth of faculty across the career span and across disciplines,
- Develop leadership capacity across all levels of the University, and
- Support and engage in scholarship that extends the knowledge base in these arenas.