The Faculty Center for Innovation, Collaboration and Support supports faculty in their professional lives at The New School. Below is the currently scheduled list of fall workshops and events. All programs are open to full-time and part-time faculty, graduate students, and staff. All workshops unless otherwise noted will be virtual and held on Zoom.
To register for a workshop, please email thefacultycenter@newschool.edu.
The Guide to Teaching and Learning has resources to support you especially during this difficult transition.
Faculty Coop
Every Monday, 4:00-5:00 pm ET
Every Thursday, 1:00-2:00 pm ET
Join us here. Meeting ID: 999 0349 1933, Password: 446409
The Coop is facilitated by Rita Breidenbach and Sheena Daree Miller
Take some time for yourselves. Sometimes we’ll have a theme or topic, but mostly this space is to support faculty coming together to share experiences around teaching and evolving dynamics as we return to physical spaces during a pandemic.
Faculty of Color Social
Tuesday, September 21, 6:00-7:00 pm ET. Join us here. Meeting ID: 999 0349 1933, Password: 446409
Hosted by Sheena Daree Miller, The Faculty Center, and facilitated by Nadia Williams, Associate Professor of Diversity and Inclusion, Parsons
Join us for an evening of conversation and brainstorming about ways the university could and should support faculty of color.
Managing the Dynamic: Creating a supportive and inclusive learning environment
Monday, September 27, 10:30 am-12:00 pm ET. Join us here. Meeting ID: 999 0349 1933, Password: 446409
with Rita Pisalet Breidenbach, The Faculty Center
Even with the best of intentions, classroom and teacher-student dynamics can be easily disrupted, even permanently damaged, and sometimes you don’t even know why. Learn how to set the stage for effective faculty-student and student-student interaction and learn methods to create a more supportive environment that promotes student learning and effective engagement. Explore teaching techniques that can transform the classroom experience. This session uses group interaction and offers an introduction to a number of topics that should invite further exploration.
Virtual Spaces and Galleries for projects and sharing student work
Thursday, September, 28, 3:00 - 4:15 pm with Maya Georgieva, Director of Education Futures, XReality Center RSVP here. Join us to see examples and learn about using 3D virtual social spaces and environments for curriculum and extracurricular immersive learning activities. During this session, we will review options for creating virtual class spaces for sharing students’ projects, visiting virtual museums and exhibits, hosting guest speakers, and meeting with students and teams in virtual social worlds.
Teaching for Equity, Inclusion and Justice: Accessibility and Universal Design
Wednesday, September 29, 1:00-2:30 pm ET. Join us here. Meeting ID: 999 0349 1933, Password: 446409
With Rita Pisalet Breidenbach, The Faculty Center; James Acevedo, Distributed Education; Kira Appel, Director of Research and Instructional Services, University Libraries
In teaching online, many faculty discovered that some online practices made their classes more equitable for students. Many of these approaches can be preserved in in-person teaching as well. Universal design for learning is an approach to accessibility that doesn’t require a student who might need an accommodation to ask for it and is more inclusive of all students’ learning needs. By adding just one additional way for students to access materials or submit work, you make your course more accessible. This ‘plus one’ approach greatly increases inclusion of more students. We’ll introduce the basic principles of ‘UDL’ and show ways you can make your online course more learner friendly.
Teach Students How to Learn
Tuesday, October 5, 12:00-1:30 pm ET. Join us here. Meeting ID: 999 0349 1933, Password: 446409
with Rita Pisalet Breidenbach, The Faculty Center
We don’t often think about thinking. Or think about how we read or listen or move or sit. We don’t often think about how we were feeling during the previous discussion or lecture or group exercise. And we certainly don’t often think about their implications for learning, retention and growth. Research has shown that helping students learn the value of such practices--helping them learn how to learn--can enhance how--and how deeply--students learn and develop understanding. Learn basic practices that you can incorporate into your classes and even into your own work.
Teaching for Equity and Inclusion: Inclusive Teaching Principles
Monday, October 11, 10:00-11:30 am Join here. Meeting ID: 999 0349 1933, Password: 446409
with Rita Pisalet Breidenbach and Sheena Daree Miller, The Faculty Center
Inclusive teaching, addressing implicit bias, handling difficult moments in the classroom: these aren’t things that are learned once; they are an ongoing practice, developing mindset and evolving attitudes that grow stronger over time. By engaging in these practices, faculty can work to ensure we’re supporting all students. We’ll discuss how faculty can cultivate online and in-person learning environments where all students feel respected, valued, supported and engaged.
A Global View: Tailoring course content for global perspectives & learning
Wednesday, October 13, 10:00-11:00 am ET. Join us here. Meeting ID: 999 0349 1933, Password: 446409
With Melissa Rancourt, Director for the Global Executive MS in Strategic Design & Management (GEMS)
Melissa resides in Europe and runs a global program for executive learners across US, Europe & Asia. She is also the Founder of an educational NGO that works across 6 continents. In this session, we will explore resources, methods & creative exercises that can bring a global view to the classroom. Through our shared experiences, we can identify how we strengthen the perspectives that our international students bring as well as encourage students to widen their lens to learn from other countries, cultures, and companies when designing any new idea. Let’s travel together!
Teaching for Equity and Inclusion: Trauma-Informed Teaching
Tuesday, October 19, 10:00 am-11:30 am. Join us here. Meeting ID: 999 0349 1933, Password: 446409
with Rita Pisalet Breidenbach and Sheena Daree Miller, The Faculty Center
We’ve all been experiencing trauma during the pandemic. This session will look at the neurobiological basis of how the stress and anxiety impact thinking, learning and memory and what we can do to mitigate its effects for both our students and ourselves.
Accentedness and the Ethics of Listening (The Listener’s Role in Global Communication)
Thursday, October 21, 12:00-2:00 pm ET. Join us here. Meeting ID: 999 0349 1933, Password: 446409
With Kimberly Edmunds, Part-Time Lecturer; DJ Dolack, Baruch College, Director of Tools for Clear Speech; and Tristan Thorne, Baruch College, Assistant Director of Tools for Clear Speech
For communication to be successful, interlocutors must work together to co-construct understanding. However, despite this reciprocity, communicative breakdowns are usually attributed to the speaker, especially if the speaker has a non-native accent. Due to the effects of bias and stereotyping, what is often overlooked is the vital role of the listener, particularly in linguistically diverse academic contexts. In this workshop, the presenters will share research-based insights that demonstrate how challenging underlying biases about non-native accents can enhance comprehension, encourage empathy, foster meaningful intercultural communication, and ultimately build a more ethical and inclusive academic community. We explore several central questions:
What does it mean to have an accent? What is the relationship between accent, intelligibility, and comprehensibility?
What are some of the common biases that listeners may bring to interactions?
What problems might arise as a result of these biases, particularly in academic settings?
What are effective, research-based solutions that can be implemented to address these problems in academic settings?
Principles of Restorative Practices
Tuesday, October 26, 12:00-1:00 pm Join us here. Meeting ID: 950 9621 7983, Password: 989274
with B. Cincere Wilson, Tamara Oyola-Santiago, Ashraf Rijal and Keyonn Sheppard (ITM team)
Learning Objectives: Participants in this session learn about the history and utility of restorative practices. The workshop models restorative practices and uses “circle work” to build group cohesion and practice healing and conflict resolution. Participants learn about oral story-telling using their own life experiences as a pedagogical narrative. For more information: Tamara Oyola-Santiago, oyolat@newschool.edu. ITM website: http://www.centernyc.org/itm-home
Teaching for Equity and Inclusion: Implicit Bias and Microaggression
Thursday, October 28, 10:00-11:30 am ET. Join here. Meeting ID: 999 0349 1933, Password: 446409
with Rita Pisalet Breidenbach and Sheena Daree Miller, The Faculty Center
The New School is an institution that, intentionally or not, replicates the power dynamics and injustice that we see in greater society. In this workshop, we’ll discuss how to recognize and address bias and microaggression as they manifest in the classroom. How can faculty cultivate learning environments where all students feel respected, valued and supported in their learning? This work inevitably includes self reflection and consideration of how our multiple identities interact with power and privilege.
Virtual Reality, Digital Literacy, and Ethics Wednesday, November 3, 2:00-3:15pm ET. RSVP here. with Maya Georgieva, Director of Education Futures, XReality Center What is the future of digital literacy in a world where the virtual and physical will be equally real? How should literacy be defined when actual human experience is no longer the touchstone for reality? As VR and AR begin to transform the learning environment, we will face profound questions on digital literacy and ethical issues. This session will explore how the growing use of VR will require new forms of digital literacy. We will discuss the expanding importance of privacy, ethics, and cultural sensitivity questions posed by VR and AR. This session will begin with a short presentation leaving ample time for discussion.
Immersive Storytelling with 360 Video Thursday, November 4, 3:00-4:15 pm ET. RSVP here. with Maya Georgieva, Director of Education Futures, XReality Center In this interactive workshop, we will review examples of journalism, documentary, and advocacy projects and explore key elements in the design of compelling 360° video experiences to gain a deeper understanding of immersive storytelling. We will discuss and Identify strategies and project-based use cases for the implementation of 360° video in the learning environment and on campus.
Gen Z: Who They Are & How to Teach Them
Friday, November 5, 10:30 am-12:00 pm ET. Join us here. Meeting ID: 999 0349 1933, Password: 446409
With Rita Breidenbach and Sheena Daree Miller, The Faculty Center
Generation Z students are markedly different from students we’ve seen in the past. Teaching techniques we’ve used before are no longer effective in supporting Gen Z students’ learning. The good news is that what supports Gen Z students are practices that have been shown to be effective in supporting all students’ learning. Learn about Gen Z generational characteristics and expectations and the methods you can adopt and adapt to improve teaching effectiveness and student success in in-person, hybrid and remote/online learning.
Starting with the Self
Wednesday, November 10, 10:00-11:30 am ET. Join us here. Meeting ID: 999 0349 1933, Password: 446409
With Natalie Gross Director of Lang Civic Engagement and Social Justice and Natasha Rivera, Associate Director of Lang Civic Engagement and Social Justice
When working with students on unpacking bias and incorporating a social justice lens in their work, we tend to start with resources they can learn from and creating braver spaces for conversations. This workshop allows us all to take a step back and critically examine our own understandings of race, class, ability, etc. In order for us to start and maintain our anti-oppressive classrooms or work spaces we must first start with ourselves.
***All participants are asked to take the Implicit Bias Test(s) prior to attendance.
Immersive Learning Series by Request: Review relevant examples and discuss ways to integrate VR/AR into the teaching and learning environment. Request a session for your department or team via the request form: Examples can focus on the use of VR/AR in Humanities, Social Sciences, Environmental Studies, Journalism, Art and Design, New Media Narratives or suggest your own topic. For additional questions contact Maya Georgieva at maya@newschool.edu.