Faculty Professional Development
My faculty development programs address the human qualities of teaching and the decisions that influence how students learn. They draw on my doctoral research in educational psychology, with a particular focus on feedback, intrinsic motivation and creative confidence. Sixteen years of academic leadership also inform my understanding of the conditions faculty need to teach well.
I work with educators to examine their practice and develop approaches they can use in their own classrooms. This includes working with AI in ways that support learning while keeping students responsible for their thinking. Sessions connect research with the situations faculty encounter when designing assignments, responding to students’ work and assessing their progress.
Talks and Lectures
Talks offer a focused examination of a teaching question, supported by examples from research and practice. They provide a setting for faculty to discuss shared concerns and reconsider familiar approaches.
Topics include:
The human qualities of effective teaching: how instructor behavior and relationships influence students’ willingness to participate and take creative risks.
Nurturing feedback for growth: helping students understand what needs attention and decide what to do next.
Motivation and creative confidence: designing learning experiences that encourage students to take ownership of their work.
Human agency in the age of AI: what students need to understand and decide for themselves when working with generative tools.
Assessment when AI contributes to the work: making students’ reasoning and development visible alongside the finished outcome.
Transdisciplinary learning: helping students work across fields while maintaining clarity of purpose and appropriate standards of evidence.
Empathy in teaching: using observation and immersive experiences to examine how an educational encounter feels from another person’s perspective.
Talks are suitable for faculty across career stages, particularly those working in creative disciplines, experiential education and project-based learning. Sessions typically run for 90 minutes, including 30 minutes for questions and discussion. Topics can be adapted for institutional events or departmental development programs.
Workshops
Workshops give participants time to examine and revise their own teaching materials. Activities can include rehearsing a critique, testing an assignment or comparing approaches to assessment. Faculty work with examples from their courses and develop changes they can implement.
The Critique Reset
A workshop on the relationship between feedback and a student’s capacity to develop self-efficacy. Participants examine the language they use, the assumptions behind their judgments and the extent to which their advice leaves students able to make decisions. Through discussion and role-play, they practice giving demanding, usable feedback that respects the student’s authorship.
Human Agency in the Age of AI
A practical exploration of AI in teaching and creative learning. Participants test ways to use AI for course planning and inquiry, then examine what students still need to demonstrate for learning to be evident. The workshop addresses authorship and evaluating AI-generated suggestions, including situations in which a tool’s feedback conflicts with an instructor’s judgment.
Creative Confidence and Student Autonomy
An examination of how assignments and everyday interactions influence students’ belief in their own capabilities. Participants consider where students have meaningful choices and how responsibility can increase as their understanding develops. Activities encourage experimentation while maintaining clear expectations.
Designing Experiential and Transdisciplinary Learning
A workshop on developing projects that connect disciplinary knowledge with questions that require investigation. Participants work on their own briefs, considering how each stage supports learning and where students need input from other fields. Assessment is developed alongside the brief so that expectations are clear from the beginning.
The Human Experience of Teaching
A workshop on care and communication in demanding learning environments. Participants examine how their responses affect trust, particularly when students are uncertain or struggling. Case discussions and simulated teaching encounters provide opportunities to practice difficult conversations and reflect on the influence of the instructor’s own behavior.
All workshops can be delivered in person or online, as focused sessions or multi-day programs. Content and duration are agreed with the institution. Participants receive supporting materials and exercises they can adapt to their teaching.
Individual Faculty Mentoring
Individual mentoring provides sustained support for an educator working on a specific aspect of their teaching. It is suitable for colleagues establishing their practice, experienced faculty redesigning a course, or educators reconsidering assessment and student engagement as AI becomes part of their teaching context.
Typically extending over a semester, mentoring begins with a review of the educator’s aims and current practice. We agree on priorities, introduce changes and examine what happens as those changes are used.
The process may include:
Reviewing course structure and the relationship between learning outcomes and assignments.
Observing teaching or reviewing recorded sessions by agreement.
Examining critique practices and the usefulness of written feedback.
Developing assessment criteria that clarify expectations and standards.
Planning the use of AI and defining how students will demonstrate their own contribution.
Reviewing student feedback and identifying changes to course delivery.
Working through challenges in classroom communication or student participation.
Documenting teaching development for reflection and professional review.
The purpose is to help educators make informed decisions about their practice and develop approaches they can continue to examine and refine independently.