2021 - 2022 Faculty Learning Communities

Facilitators: Larence Becker, Psychology and Joerg Tuske, Philosophy

The goal of this FLC is to establish the Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences (CCBS). The center would ultimately serve as more than an FLC, though less than a full academic department. It would be a nexus for interaction among faculty and students with interests in the study of mind and brain. (A kind of PACE for cognitive science.) CCBS will be aligned with the tenets of cognitive science which attempts to understand how the mind works by studying it from multiple perspectives. We hope to bring together faculty from Anthropology, Biology (neuroscience), Computer Science (artificial intelligence), English (linguistics), Philosophy and Psychology (cognitive and biopsychology). (Note that we include the word ‘brain’ in our title to explicitly signal inclusion of neuroscience and biology.)

Though some universities have separate departments of Cognitive Science, there are also many that unite faculty from these disciplines in less formal centers such as we are proposing. Having successfully pioneered the popular Cognitive Science Minor in 2018, we think it appropriate to take this next small step in expanding the reach of this vital field of study at SU. From the ubiquity of artificial intelligence to the study of cognitive biases, to the advent of brain implants, knowledge derived from the cognitive sciences will have a huge impact on society in the 21st Century. The CCBS will further the ability of SU faculty and students to take part in these discoveries.

Facilitators: Steven Binz, Physics and Chris Woodall, SU Libraries

This FLC is for faculty and staff from all across campus who are interested in the pedagogical capabilities of 3D technologies (including virtual reality, augmented reality, 3D printing, 3D scanning, use of virtual spaces for online courses (For example: https://altvr.com), and more). The FLC will continue to provide a means for discussion and knowledge sharing among FLC members as well as outreach to the wider SU community. Our goals are (1) to increase the awareness on campus of the capabilities of these technologies, (2) to ensure that all faculty are kept up to date on what equipment is already available on campus, and (3) to expand what is possible for the faculty already using these technologies in their classrooms (4) and to help those faculty interested in using the technology but lack the required knowledge.

Facilitators: Tim Stock, Philosophy and Tina Plottel, SU Libraries

Invitees are selected based on (1) centrality of ethics to teaching and professional development (2) leadership roles around ethics curricula across campus and (3) disciplinary diversity (4) engagement with existing ethics activities. Ethics ought to be strengthened as an intrinsic component of undergraduate education at Salisbury University. There are innumerable contemporary rationale to consider, which include:

• The impact of public ethics scandals, such as the role of Psychology in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
• The COVID-19 public health crisis, which has highlighted insufficient depth of ethics resources in our health care system and a lack of support for non-clinical resources aimed at the social determinants of health.
• The prevalence of social problems such as wealth inequality, systemic racism and environmental collapse that require changes in the way we think about personal responsibility and collective action.
• Questions of transparency and access to sensitive decision points, operational knowledge, intellectual property, and other institutional barriers to public participation in decision making, highlighting an increased need for ethics training in leadership and more open government, budgeting, and administration.

This FLC will explore five key topic areas: Ethics in Health and Human Services; Ethics in Law and Society; Ethics in Human Experience; Ethics in Schools; and Ethics in Research. Target community of 25-30 participants.

Facilitator: Yujia Song, Philosophy

The Health Humanities FLC brings together faculty from different schools and departments who share common interests in medicine, health, and related topics. Our members come from philosophy, communication, sociology, psychology, and nursing. The FLC is the driving force behind the new Minor in Health Humanities. Given the Minor is still in its infancy, we need to continue to refine the curriculum to adapt to faculty and student interests. The FLC serves as an important point of connection through which information can be shared and contacts made more easily. Since the FLC is ultimately about faculty development, we see it as providing invaluable opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration in teaching and scholarship and highly interested in collaboration on research projects. As we all teach courses related to health and medicine, the FLC facilitates discussion and brainstorming of ideas regarding course development and pedagogical strategies.

Facilitator: Belen Vicens Saiz, History

The objective of this FLC is to promote the development of the group members’ research agendas. This FLC will be a community of scholars where we support one another through the good, bad, and ugly of our academic careers, while keeping each other accountable in our research goals and providing feedback on our respective projects. As Elizabeth Tandy Shermer argues, “it always takes an academic village to bring [one’s writing] to life” in a publication. The Humanities Writing Group FLC aims to be one such village.

Facilitator: James Parrigin, SU Libraries

SU faculty have long identified information literacy (IL) as an essential competency, an expected student learning goal. Consequently, this FLC invites faculty who would like to:

1. examine information literacy as an intellectual habit that students should practice often during their time at SU, and
2. explore and discuss research assignment design resources and best practices.

Faculty will engage in newly designing or re-envisioning an existing research assignment that is aligned with the updated IL student learning outcomes.

The FLC will conclude with a discussion of Project Information Literacy’s Provocation Series on combating disinformation culture.

Facilitator: Catherine Jackson, Interdisciplinary Studies and Chrys Egan, Fulton School and Communication

The Interdisciplinary Teaching and Research FLC brings together faculty and staff involved in leading interdisciplinary programs and scholarship at SU. Over the past few years, the Interdisciplinary Studies programs have been among the top three fastest growing majors at SU. New interdisciplinary majors in the Fulton School of Liberal Arts are either under development or nearing curriculum approval, current majors are undergoing revision, there are four new interdisciplinary minors in the last five years (with more under development), and the Henson School has developed its own interdisciplinary major. With this increasing focus on interdisciplinarity, there is also an eagerness among faculty and staff to gather and learn more about interdisciplinarity, the impact interdisciplinary programs have on student learning and organizational structures, and the development of best practices for interdisciplinary teaching, learning, and research. This FLC engages practitioners in these conversations to apply interdisciplinary practices throughout campus.

Facilitator: Alexander (Sandy) Pope, Secondary and Physical Education

With the adoption of a new General Education program, faculty may be interested in more information about resources and supports for revising courses to fit the new model. This FLC exists to explore and form suggestions for professional development seminars and other opportunities that will help and reward faculty for revisions into the new model. The FLC is primarily focused on the three “tagged” areas of Civic Engagement, Diversity & Inclusion, and Sustainability, but the conversations and investigations will have a broad range and participants need no special expertise in any area.

Facilitators: Shawn McEntee, Sociology and Lena Woodis, Chemistry

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) FLC welcomes all faculty, staff, and graduate students interested in all things related to continuously improving teaching and learning -- whether you are interested in networking with your SU colleagues, learning more about what is out there across disciplines and topics, sharing your expertise, or getting support on your SoTL-related activities! Please visit the SoTL FLC website for more information, including:

• the description, purpose, and goals of the SoTL FLC;
• how you can join;
• the SoTL MyClasses Course;
• supporting the SoTL Fellowship; or
• learning more about the SoTL Fellowship.

Facilitators: Derya Kulavuz-Onal, English and Mou Chakraborty, SU Libraries

This FLC focuses on exploring pedagogies of teaching in the college classrooms where there are international students. Although we acknowledge that “international students” is not a homogeneous group, we primarily define the target group of international students that we want to focus on as those who are born in another country where a different language than English is spoken dominantly, and who recently came to the United States within a study abroad program or to pursue an academic degree at the undergraduate or graduate level. In our second year, we would like to engage in additional activities to further our FLC’s professional development goals and objectives, but also start sharing our increased knowledge and understanding more with the campus community and to build more communication with international students on campus in order to explore ways of increasing their meaningful engagement and academic development on campus. We also hope to be more visible across SU campus as the TwINS FLC through activities such as a roundtable session with international students and community building social events.

Facilitators: Shruti Patel, History; G. Douglas Barrett, Communication;

How do digital technologies like social media, computers, and dating apps—as well as knowledge technologies like libraries and governments—influence and inform human identity? In 2014, Facebook announced that it would allow its users to choose from 58 options for gender identification including female, male, transwoman, and transman, as well as genderqueer, non-binary, and “other.” Until recently, computers themselves were gendered—prior to the 1940s, that is, the term “computer” referred to a human, typically a woman, who performed calculations by hand. Dating apps allow users not only to specify gender and sexual preferences, but also discriminate based on race and ethnicity. In the sphere of ideas and governance, the contents of archives and information repositories are not only driven by the interests of scholars and university administrators but also respond to the societies they serve. This cross-cutting inquiry, we think, can and should be investigated through interdisciplinary engagement. While humanists possess an arsenal of methodologies and approaches to analyze such questions, scientists, engineers, and technologists represent key perspectives in this conversation. Through a series of readings and study group meetings, this FLC will introduce SU faculty across the sciences, social sciences and humanities, to science and technology studies (STS), digital humanities, media studies, and the post-humanities, and explore their uses in curricula and professional development. Participants will then be invited to apply knowledge gained from the FLC in both teaching and scholarly activities.

Facilitator: Mary Gunther, Biological Sciences

The Zoo FLC consists of faculty interested in partnering with the Salisbury Zoo to develop relationships and programs with equal appeal to both Salisbury University and the Salisbury Zoo. Participants have included faculty from Biology, Psychology, Art, Communications, History, Education, and Physics. This FLC is open to any faculty who wish to use the zoo in their course work.

Projects have included Zoo staff as guest lecturers in courses and Biology Seminars; Psychology’s Living Laboratory Project; development of an Honors class on wildlife trafficking; coordination of research projects between the zoo and the university; installation of a new slide for the otters; Metal Menagerie Art Exhibit; bird boxes and more!