Faculty Development Resources at the School of Continuing Studies of Northwestern University

Faculty Development Resources

The School of Continuing Studies is committed to assisting our faculty in providing the best possible learning experiences. We strive to identify helpful resources that address the specific needs of our adult students.

Online Faculty: Due to the unique nature of online learning, online faculty will complete comprehensive training on the tools used in these courses.

Faculty Development Video

Click on the link below to view a video introduction to adult learning at the School of Continuing Studies. This video includes comments from SCS students and faculty about the special challenges and rewards of adult learning.

Faculty Development Workshops

Each year, Northwestern and SCS lead workshops dedicated to improving the art of teaching. Below is a list of departments that host workshops throughout the year.

Academic Technologies: Academic & Research Technologies works in partnership with the NU Library to host seminars and training sessions intended for NU faculty on the topics of educational technologies, scholarly communications, and new capabilities for support of research. Programs include the course management seminars, technology seminars, and a variety of customized programs, on demand, for specific schools. Training covers topics such as digital media, online archives, advanced visualization technologies, electronic journals, videoconferencing, web-based media, and other emerging technologies. Please click on the links below for a schedule of upcoming training sessions:

Course Management/Blackboard workshops: http://course-management.northwestern.edu/display/cms/Workshops

The Scholarly Resources & Technology Series is specifically intended for NU faculty who want to take advantage of the teaching and research capabilities of digital media, course management system features, online archives, electronic databases and other emerging technologies. These seminars are free and previous computer experience is not necessary. For more information on workshops, visit http://2east.northwestern.edu/

Searle Center: Northwestern's Searle Center for Teaching Excellence provides a wide range of support, offering consultations, videotaping of classes, workshops and lectures, and a library of books, articles, and online resources to increase success in the classroom. New and continuing instructors will benefit from Searle's online guides to planning classes and improving discussions and lectures. A schedule of currently-available faculty workshops offered by Searle can be viewed here.

The Writing Place: In addition to tutoring students, the Writing Place staff is available to assist SCS faculty as well. If you want some expert advice while developing written assignments or with other writing issues in your class, contact Barbara Shwom at (847) 491-7690 or bshwom@northwestern.edu. For more information on the Writing Place, visit: http://www.writing.northwestern.edu/.

Other Teaching Resources

The Idea Center, Inc., is a non-profit organization that shares proven teaching strategies. Their "Idea Papers" address the most important concerns of both new and continuing instructors. We strongly recommend you browse their library: http://www.theideacenter.org/IDEAPapers

Mathematics instructors are left out no more! Here is a web site with resources for teaching math: http://archives.math.utk.edu/