08/11/2022
By Julie Nash

The Center for Excellence in Learning & Teaching (CELT) is inviting all faculty at UMass Lowell to submit applications for two 2022-2023 Learning Communities on Complex Problem Solving and Inclusive Pedagogy. These learning communities are designed for faculty members who wish to study, practice and incorporate these topics into their courses, and who are willing to collaborate as a cohort to support each other and future faculty interested in expanding Complex Problem Solving and Inclusive Pedagogy on campus. No matter your experience or your discipline, we'd love to see you join!

Complex Problem-Solving Learning Community (Faculty Fellow Lead: David Willis, Mechanical Engineering, FCOE)

Complex problem solving is consistently identified as one of the fundamental skill needs for the future. While machines and computers using can already process and identify patterns in certain data more effectively and efficiently than humans, complex problem solving remains a critical and fundamental human advantage for tomorrow’s world. The human advantage in complex problem solving arises from the ability to manage ill-defined, interconnected, and/or multi-solution problems and to synergistically leverage computers and machines as appropriate to the task or problem. Complex problem solving is required across disciplines to address the gnarly problems faced by society. This learning community aims to bring together a multi-disciplinary cohort of faculty for a full academic year to research, discuss, learn about and develop a teaching, learning and assessment framework surrounding the topic of complex problem solving.

Inclusive Pedagogy Learning Community (Faculty Fellow Lead: Phitsamay Uy, School of Education, FAHSS)

Inclusivity in your pedagogy is grounded in culturally responsive teaching. It honors and respects all individuals in the classroom and recognizes we all can learn from each other (including you, the instructor, who can learn from your students). Inclusive pedagogy embraces cultural differences, constructs welcoming environments for sharing cultural perspectives, and challenges students to think critically about diversity and equity issues. This Inclusive Pedagogy learning community aims to bring together a multi-disciplinary cohort of faculty for a full academic year to help UMass Lowell faculty examine their pedagogy and begin to develop their culturally inclusive teaching practices to increase student engagement, cultivate positive identity development, and build skills in critical thinking, analysis, and social awareness. Faculty will learn more about and adopt an inclusive pedagogical practice to implement in their teaching during the 2022-2023 year. In addition, faculty will contribute to building an inclusive community by participating and sharing their inclusive practices.

Applications

Participants in CELT’s Learning Communities can expect to:

  • Participate in a monthly meeting (September to May/June)
  • Assess the outcomes of your pedagogical practices
  • Share findings/experience from your learning communities with the UMass Lowell community, at a professional conference and/or in a publication.

Faculty members are encouraged to apply to one or both learning communities.

To apply, please fill out this formby Aug. 26. Selected participants will be notified by end of August and the first meeting invitations will be sent out for mid-September.

For more information, please contact CELT@uml.edu.