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Strategic Plan for Faculty Development
Greg Reihman, Ph.D., Director
(last updated 1/2007)

Mission -- Vision -- Values -- Goals/Objectives -- Activities/Outcomes

Mission

Our mission is to foster excellence in teaching and learning by providing faculty with tools, development opportunities, and consultation services. As part of the Lehigh Lab (Lehigh's campus-wide initiative to advance the adoption of innovative technologies and techniques that enhance teaching, learning and research) we work closely with the other divisions of Library & Technology Services to provide a coordinated array of support for faculty.

Vision

We envision a campus where all faculty cultivate their teaching talents and receive the support they need to do so. We envision teachers who regularly test out new approaches to instruction and willingly share their experiences with others so all may benefit. We envision faculty, staff, and students working together to create environments in which all students learn.

Values

Our practice is guided by five core beliefs about faculty development:

1. Faculty who actively and regularly cultivate their teaching talents are better able to create faculty-student interactions in which both teacher and learner flourish.
   
   
2. There is no single best way to teach that works for everyone; however, for any given teacher in a specific teaching context, there are some teaching practices that are more effective than others.
   
   
3. The goal of promoting student learning is paramount and should always guide practice for those considering the adoption of new technologies, techniques, or approaches.
   
   
4. The best form of faculty development takes place when faculty are inspired, not required, to change; authentic, significant, and sustainable change occurs when faculty receive forms of support and guidance that are aligned with their own goals as teachers and scholars.
   
   
5. Changes in teaching practice require faculty to commit their time and energy, but development opportunities should accommodate the amount of time and energy faculty are willing and able to invest.

Goals and Objectives

1. Foster a campus culture that supports, recognizes, and rewards teaching.

-Provide campus leadership across colleges and programs for excellence and innovation in teaching.
-Create mechanisms to share faculty teaching successes.
-Communicate regularly with campus leadership, faculty and staff to keep teaching a conversational priority.
-Create opportunities for faculty to learn about and share effective teaching practices.

2. Help faculty cultivate their teaching talents.

-Meet one-on-one with faculty to determine individual areas of interest and need.
-Develop structured faculty development plans for faculty, when requested.
-Offer diverse faculty development opportunities that address the needs of specific and varied teaching environments.
-Help faculty deploy, develop or discover ways to improve pedagogical and technological aspects of instruction.
-Conduct classroom observations when invited.
-Develop venues for sustained, small-group conversations about teaching.
-Draft and distribute guidelines on best practices in teaching.
-Work with instructional technology, library, and computing consultants to identify, document, and share effective ways to reinforce good pedagogical principles during faculty consultations.

3. Broaden and improve development opportunities.

-Conduct ongoing needs assessments and quality assessments (including surveys and focus groups) to improve programming and help determine future activities.
-Based on faculty and staff input, revise existing faculty development programs or design new programs.
-Work with other LTS units to offer coordinated programming and support to faculty.
-With LTS staff, analyze the efficacy of LTS consultant services and seminars.

4. Increase the visibility of and faculty participation in faculty development opportunities and Lehigh Lab projects.

-Discuss college- and department-specific faculty development plans with college deans and department chairs.
-Arrange visits to departments.
-Inform specific groups of faculty when relevant development opportunities arise.
-Develop effective communications strategies
-Partner with other units on campus, as appropriate.

5.Encourage the scholarship of teaching and learning.

-Help faculty gain insight into the effectiveness of their teaching through formal and informal assessment of student learning.
-Design and disseminate tools that help departments and individuals conduct assessment activities.
-Encourage scholarly work on teaching and learning
-Develop methods for sharing assessment results, locally and externally.

Activities and Outcomes

2007 Activity Report: Director of Faculty Development

2006 Activity Report: Director of Faculty Development

Selected Projects-Lehigh Lab

Lehigh Lab Notes