Consultations
The Faculty Development Center offers confidential, one-on-one, or group consultations on teaching and research to all instructors and faculty across the university. Through these consultations, we aim to support EMU faculty advances in their teaching, scholarship, and professional development goals. Further, each consultations will be individually designed to meet your teaching, learning, and research needs.
All consultation services are performed in a strictly confidential manner as none of the FDC staff report to HR, nor do we participate in faculty and staff evaluations. We also value your privacy and appreciate that you trust the FDC in coming to us with your concerns.
Teaching Consultations
Consultation on teaching/learning issues is offered to all faculty & lecturers (individuals, small groups, departments and colleges) on a completely voluntary and confidential basis. Sessions are arranged by appointment, but walk-in requests may be accommodated if staff are available.
Teaching consultations may include:
- Discussion of classroom-related concerns and challenges;
- Course, program, or curriculum review and redesign;
- Review of course materials (syllabi, assignments, exams);
- Observation and feedback on class instruction and evaluation
Research Consultations
FDC staff and associates are available to meet with faculty members to discuss research design, implementation methods, analysis, and draft publications, particularly when related to inquiries around teaching and learning.
Research consultations may include:
- Research design of descriptive, correlational, and experimental studies;
- Design and evaluation assistance with internal and external proposal development in cooperation with the Office of Research Development and Administration;
- Design and formatting of data gathering instruments, including surveys, observational forms, and interviews;
- Feedback on draft articles, texts, or presentations.
Mid-Term Student Feedback Sessions
The Bruce K. Nelson Faculty Development center offers all EMU faculty and lecturers mid-term student feedback sessions. Through these sessions, we aim to help instructors gather input from their students while they still have time to implement change.
The Process
1. Developing Questions
The FDC will work with you to develop individualized questions that we unique to your students and your course.
Sample Feedback Questions:
- What is going well in this class and how does this contribute to your learning?
- How engaging do you, as students, find this course? What could make it even more engaging?
- What could use improvement? What specific suggestions would you make for change?
2. Collect Responses
An FDC staff member can join one of your classes and, in your absence, gather responses to feedback questions, or you can gather data on your own.
3. Interpret Feedack
Once all responses have been gathered from your students, the FDC director will then meet with you to confidentially discuss and interpret the feedback. These meetings aim to identify areas which need improvement and to create action plans to make positive change.
4. Responding with Change
Implement change into your course where identified. All adjustments made should help students in their learning process.
If you are interested in scheduling a consultation or a mid-semester feedback session, please email us at [email protected].