Faculty Learning Communities
A Faculty Learning Community[i] (FLC) is a peer-led group of faculty members (6-12 in number) who engage in active, collaborative programming, with a curriculum structured to provide encouragement, support, and reflection on teaching and learning.
FLCs that are facilitated well encourage professional development and the scholarship of teaching and learning, which leads to more-engaged participation by faculty in the broader campus community. Sharing common teaching and learning experiences also breaks down discipline-specific boundaries, and promotes interdisciplinary projects and programs, and advance of the quality of teaching. The successes from FLCs are not only measured in learning outcomes, but also in the caliber of faculty relationships and culture.[ii]
Before registering for an FLC, please review the qualities necessary for community which are the expectations that will guide your group experience.
If you have questions about an FLC or have an idea for a new FLC topic, please contact Dr. Andrew Kerins, Director of the Faculty Development and Innovation Center @ EIU.
Fall 2025 - Spring 2026
Below are descriptions of our FLC programming for the new academic year. Our FLC offerings provide a range of opportunities to meet the requests of faculty across campus. This year, FLC programs include:
To view FLC programs from previous years, please see the FDIC FLC Archive.
Active Learning FLC
What is active learning?
Active learning strategies are instructional activities involving learners in doing things and thinking about what they are doing.[iii] These require learners to engage in meaningful activities and think deeply about the concepts they are learning. When people engage in active learning, they are more likely to retain what they’ve learned.
The vision for this FLC is to model faculty peer teaching and learning. To do so, the commitment by participants would be one day per month beginning in early October 2025, then meet monthly for the remainder of the calendar year (November & December) and bi-monthly in the Spring 2026 semester. The time and day are up to the group membership, agreeable to those who decide to participate; FLC meetings will be held in the CSI active learning space located in Booth Library - first floor.
Each participant will receive a copy of “The New College Classroom” by Davidson and Katopodis which will be read throughout the year. Director of Faculty Development and Innovation Center, Dr. Andrew Kerins, will attend the meetings to introduce the project, orient the group, and establish the parameters, as well as facilitate the group throughout the year. Members will also get to work with FDIC Instructional Designer, Kim Ervin.
The objectives of this FLC are to:
- Identify active learning methods and learning spaces for teaching and learning at EIU.
- Develop a set of active learning techniques to share through the FDIC.
- Support faculty interested in active, creative, and innovative teaching and learning.
- Integrate teaching and learning styles that promote principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Provide and receive constructive, no-stakes feedback after a teaching observation, with an emphasis on growth and improvement rather than critique.
- Produce a cohort of active learning leaders to train, support, and empower other EIU faculty interested in active learning.
For full details, please read the Active Learning FLC Invitation for Participation.
The facilitators will contact you to schedule the first meeting. Subsequent regular meeting dates will be determined by the group members. Please disregard the date and time associated with the registration link.
Registration: https://eiu.libcal.com/event/15055357
Beyond The First Year: An FLC for Second- and Third-Year Faculty Growth
This FLC is designed specifically for faculty in their second and third years at EIU who are ready to build on the foundation of their first year by deepening their knowledge of available resources, strategies, and opportunities to support their teaching, scholarship, and service while connecting with colleagues campus-wide. The first year can often feel like a whirlwind—filled with new names, new systems, and competing priorities. This FLC offers space to revisit and unpack topics that may have been overlooked or only superficially explored in that busy first year.
Through regular meetings and collaborative conversations, participants will engage with campus experts and one another around topics such as effectively using Booth Library’s services, leveraging the Student Success Center to support diverse learners, making the most of D2L (there’s way more to it than you think), and revisiting course design with a more confident and reflective perspective. Other sessions may focus on building sustainable scholarship practices, understanding the promotion and tenure process, or balancing professional and personal responsibilities.
This supportive, peer-based community is intended to provide a space for reflection, connection, and practical growth. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of campus resources, new strategies to enhance their work, and stronger relationships with colleagues at a similar career stage. Whether your first year felt like survival mode or just a blur, this FLC is an invitation to slow down, ask new questions, and grow with intention.
This FLC will be facilitated by Dr. Andrew Kerins, Director, Faculty Development and Innovation Center (FDIC)
The objectives of this FLC are to:
- Build a supportive peer network with colleagues at a similar career stage to foster collaboration, share strategies, and promote professional and personal well-being.
- Identify and utilize key campus resources—such as Booth Library, the Student Success Center, and D2L —to enhance teaching, advising, and student engagement.
- Apply principles of effective course design to revise or refine existing courses with greater intentionality and alignment to learning outcomes, assessment strategies, and student needs.
- Demonstrate increased confidence in navigating institutional structures related to faculty roles, including scholarship expectations, service opportunities, and the promotion and tenure process.
- Engage in reflective practice by revisiting early teaching and professional experiences, identifying areas for growth, and setting goals for the next stages of their academic career.
The facilitator will contact you to schedule the first meeting. Subsequent regular meeting dates will be determined by the group members. Please disregard the date and time associated with the registration link.
Registration: https://eiu.libcal.com/event/15055371
Easing Into AI
This interdisciplinary FLC brings together faculty from across campus to explore the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence (AI) and its implications for higher education. Through regular meetings, discussions, and podcast episodes, participants will engage with foundational concepts in AI, examine ethical and pedagogical considerations, and investigate practical applications of AI in teaching, research, and professional practice.
Topics may include AI-assisted writing and grading tools, generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT), ethics, responsible AI integration in the classroom, and the future of academic integrity. Participants will share ideas, develop resources, and collaborate on strategies to thoughtfully incorporate AI into their disciplines while critically assessing its impact.
Whether you're just beginning to explore AI or already integrating it into your work, this community offers a supportive space to learn, reflect, and grow together.
The facilitators for this FLC are Dr. Ngozi Onuora and Dr. Alexis Jones from the Department of Teaching, Learning and Foundations.
The objectives of this FLC are to:
- Acknowledge, inform, and possibly ease some concerns about artificial intelligence’s use in the college classroom,
- Discuss the ethical implications of AI in multiple fields of study.
- Develop concrete ideas for integrating AI into their teaching and research.
- Create a network of colleagues exploring similar concepts and questions.
While location is TBD, the face-to-face meeting dates and times for this FLC are:
- 2 - 3 p.m., Tuesday, September 2, 2025
- 2 - 3 p.m., Tuesday, November 4, 2025
- 2 - 3 p.m., Tuesday, February 3, 2026
- 2 - 3 p.m., Tuesday, April 7, 2026
Please register separately for each session to help plan appropriately for attendance at individual meetings.
Registration: https://eiu.libcal.com/event/15032077
The Mindful Educator FLC: A Training Program for EIU Faculty
This FLC is grounded in contemporary research and evidence-based practices. It is designed to equip participants with practical tools to manage stress, stay grounded, and engage with greater presence in their teaching and leadership roles. The program also supports personal well-being, enhances effectiveness in the classroom, and encourages the development of mindful leadership, fostering student well-being, and creating inclusive, responsive learning environments.
The Mindfulness Educator FLC will be facilitated by Dr. Misty Rhoads, Department of Public Health and Nutrition and Kim Ervin, FDIC Instructional Designer and consist of nine interactive workshops offered over the course of the academic year. It is open to EIU faculty who are interested in personal growth, professional development, and student-centered education.
Participants who attend the majority of sessions will receive a certificate recognizing their commitment as a Mindful Educator; however, all levels of participation are welcome. Any presence in the group offers meaningful benefits for personal well-being, connection, and teaching practice.
The facilitators will contact you to schedule the first meeting. Subsequent regular meeting dates will be determined by the group members.
The objectives of this FLC are to:
- Develop skills in mindful awareness.
- Explore strategies to enhance focus and resilience.
- Learn how to integrate mindfulness into their teaching practices.
The facilitators will contact you to schedule the first meeting. Subsequent regular meeting dates will be determined by the group members. Please disregard the date and time associated with the registration link.
Registration: https://eiu.libcal.com/event/15055361
The Mindful Educator Faculty Practicing Circle: Continuing the Journey
This Faculty Practicing Circle (FPC) is a new offering designed exclusively for those who have completed The Mindful Educator Faculty Learning Experience (FLC).
This next level experience invites these faculty into an ongoing community of practice, where we continue the journey of mindful teaching, nervous system awareness, and personal well-being.
The FPC provides a safe, supportive space to go deeper into the work we began in The Mindful Educator FLC through shared reflection, group discussion, and regular mindfulness practice.
The Faculty Practice Circle will be facilitated by Dr. Misty Rhoads, Department of Public Health and Nutrition and Kim Ervin, FDIC Instructional Designer, and will meet regularly in a more informal, experiential format than the original training series. There is no required attendance or formal curriculum, just a shared commitment to showing up, practicing together, and deepening what we have already begun. If The Mindful Educator FLC helped you reset, reconnect, and grow, the FPC is the space to keep it alive.
The objectives of this FLC are to:
- Sustain a personal mindfulness practice throughout the academic year.
- Build a stronger sense of community and connection with fellow educators.
- Hold space for vulnerability, creativity, and personal growth.
- Apply nervous system-informed strategies in the classroom and beyond.
- Support one another in cultivating resilience and presence.
The facilitators will contact you to schedule the first meeting. Subsequent regular meeting dates will be determined by the group members. Please disregard the date and time associated with the registration link.
Registration for The Mindful Educator FLC Graduates Only: https://eiu.libcal.com/event/15055366
Qualities Necessary for Community in FLCs
- Safety and trust. In order for participants to connect with one another, they must have a sense of safety and trust. This is especially true when participants reveal weaknesses in their teaching or ignorance of teaching processes or literature.
- Openness. In an atmosphere of openness, participants can feel free to share their thoughts and feelings without fear of retribution.
- Respect. In order to coalesce as a learning community, members need to feel that they are valued and respected as people. It is important for the university to acknowledge their participation by financially supporting community projects and participation at FLC topic-related conferences.
- Responsiveness. Members must respond respectfully to one another, and the facilitator(s) must respond quickly to the participants. The facilitator should welcome the expression of concerns and preferences and, when appropriate, share these with individuals and the entire FLC.
- Collaboration. The importance of collaboration in consultation and group discussion on individual members’ projects and on achieving community learning outcomes hinges on group members’ ability with and respond to one another. In addition, to individual projects, joint projects and presentations should be welcomed.
- Relevance. Learning outcomes are enhanced by relating the subject matter of the FLC to the participants’ teaching, courses, scholarship, professional interests, and life experiences. All participants should be encouraged to seek out and share teaching and other real-life examples to illustrate these outcomes.
- Challenge. Expectations for the quality of FLC outcomes should be high, engendering a sense of progress, scholarship value, and accomplishment. Sessions should include, for example, some in which individuals share syllabi and report on their individual projects.
- Enjoyment. Activities must include social opportunities to lighten up and bond and should take place in invigorating environments. For example, a retreat can take place off-campus at a nearby country inn, state park, historic site, or the like.
- Esprit de corps. Sharing individual and community outcomes with colleagues in the academy should generate pride and loyalty. For example, when the community makes a campus presentation, participants strive to provide an excellent session.
- Empowerment. A sense of empowerment is both a crucial element and a desired outcome of participation in an FLC. In the construction of a transformative learning environment, the participants gain a new view of themselves and a new sense of confidence in their abilities. Faculty members leave their year of participation with better courses and a clearer understanding of themselves and their students. Key outcomes include scholarly teaching and contributions to the scholarship of teaching.
[i] “Introduction to Faculty Learning Communities.” Milton D. Cox (2004), pp. 5-23 in Building Faculty Learning Communities, New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Number 97, M.D. Cox, and L. Richlin, eds.
[ii] “Professional Development through Faculty Learning Communities." Michelle Glowacki-Dudka and Michael P. Brown (2007), pp. 29-39 in New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource Development, Vol. 21, No 1/2.
[iii] Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom. Charles C. Bonwell and James A. Eison (1991). ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report, No. 1
[iv] “Active Learning Spaces in the United States”. Stan Aalderink (2019), Educause Review. Available: https://er.educause.edu/blogs/2019/10/active-learning-spaces-lessons-learned-in-the-united-states
