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Office for Faculty Excellence

Faculty Conversation Series

The Office for Faculty Excellence’s Faculty Conversation Series is designed to engage faculty in conversation around relevant topics that will be helpful as they teach. 

For each session, faculty will read a relevant article/paper about the topic (optional), receive question prompts, engage in conversation around the topic with other faculty members, and reflect on how the conversation may have changed thinking on the topic.

By participating, faculty will:

  • Have the opportunity to listen to others, share their experiences, receive insights and feedback from peers, engage in important, timely, and relevant conversations with other faculty who are interested in these topics
  • Be provided with readings to learn more about the issues that are the focus of the conversations, and
  • Build professional and social connections with other faculty.

Space in each conversation is limited, so register now.

Spring 2023 Sessions

  • NEW SESSION: How We Evaluate: A New Initiative to Teach Critical Thinking at NC State (Wednesday, April 26, 2023, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. via Zoom) Led by Led by Dr. Maria Gallardo-Williams, OFE Senior Faculty Development Specialist and special guests OFE Faculty Fellow Erica Kosal and Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor of Philosophy Gary Comstock. A team of NC State faculty led by Gary Comstock (Philosophy) is spearheading an initiative to teach a new method of critical thinking. Called “How We Evaluate,” the method consists of a set of modular lessons employing two research-based pedagogical strategies, Mastery Learning and Argument Mapping. The objective is to ensure that students attain proficiency in these five cognitive skills: Identify Contentions (of argumentative essays); Discover Arguments (for the contention); Record Objections (dealt with by the author or raised by the reader); Provide Rebuttals (offered by the author to the objections); and Assess Soundness (decide for oneself whether the premises are true and inferences strong). Time will be reserved for discussion of the method itself and of the prospects for the initiative at NC State.
  • Faculty Affinity Communities (Wednesday, February 1, 2023, 11:30-12:30 p.m. via Zoom), Led by Led by Dr. Maria Gallardo-Williams, OFE Senior Faculty Development Specialist and special guests OFE Faculty Fellow Angie Smith and Jai Jackson, Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity, Inclusive Excellence and Strategic Practice Assistant Vice Provost for Faculty Engagement:Interested in connecting to faculty across campus? Attend the session to learn more about affinity groups and begin the process of meeting and developing connections with your colleagues across NCSU. We welcome you to the zoom session and look forward to sharing space together.  Suggested Reading: Educational Affinity Groups, the Why and How
  • Are Your Students Writing Their Papers? Or is it AI? All About Chat GPT (Wednesday, March 1, 2023, 11:30-12:30 p.m. via Zoom), Led by Dr. Maria Gallardo-Williams, OFE Senior Faculty Development Specialist and special guests CHASS Associate Professor Paul Fyfe, University Libraries Associate Head of Research Engagement Hannah Rainey, Director of the Office of Student Conduct Thomas Hardiman, and Assistant Director of the Academic Success Center Wendy VanDellon: We know that you have heard about this new AI application that can write pretty decent papers with just a few prompts. What does that mean for your classes? How do we manage this tool and harness its power in our own courses? Come to chat with some experts that can answer your questions and provide actionable suggestions.   Suggested Reading:  Machines Can Craft Essays. How Should Writing Be Taught Now?
  • Open Education Resources (Wednesday, April 5, 2023, 11:30-12:30 p.m. via Zoom), Led by Dr. Maria Gallardo-Williams, OFE Senior Faculty Development Specialist and special guests OFE Faculty Fellow Melissa Ramirez and Agricultural Science Librarian and Alt-Textbook Committee member Hillary Fox: Join us to talk about open educational resources, from textbooks to study aids that can be used to enhance access while engaging your students. Suggested Reading: Open Education as a lever for social justice and equity – Exploring the many on ramps of Open STEM education (Bonner, et al., 2022)