Faculty First Flight

Program Overview

The Faculty First Flight program provides training and support in teaching, student learning, and course design for newly-hired UNT faculty. CLEAR designs and facilitates the program with support from the Office of Faculty Success and the Provost’s office. Upon completion of the program, faculty participants who have a contract (or continuing contract) for 2019-20 in place by June 1, 2019 will receive $1000 in professional development funds. 

faculty first flight logo

Details 

Faculty First Flight spans the Fall and Spring semesters. Program content and activities will be largely conducted online through Canvas, as well as through face-to-face events throughout the year. Content consists of a series of modules on pertinent UNT policies, procedures, and resources, as well as course design and pedagogy. Activities include a variety of assessments and the creation of course design and planning documents, which CLEAR staff will use to measure participants’ understanding and mastery, and which faculty can use to design and/or implement teaching strategies in their courses right away. Participants will complete a series of required foundational modules and will then select two shorter modules that best fit their individual teaching needs and/or interests. The time commitment is expected to be 3-5 hours per month on average.

Requirements for Completion

In order to successfully complete the program, faculty will complete eight foundational modules and two modules of their choosing and attend the three face-to-face events throughout the semester (New Faculty Orientation in August, workshop in December, and end-of-year celebration in May). Completion of modules will require reading content, taking select-response assessments, and/or completing course design and planning documents. Participation at the University Forum on Teaching and Learning and the CLEAR Salute to Faculty Excellence event can be substituted for the other scheduled face-to-face events. Upon completion of the program, faculty participants who have a contract (or continuing contract) for 2019-20 in place by June 1, 2019 will receive $1,000 in professional development funds. 

Modules

Foundational modules are:

  • Teaching & Learning 
  • Principles of Course Design 
  • UNT Policy & Resources
  • Accessibility: Teaching, Learning, and Course Design for Everyone
  • Teaching with Technology
  • Cultural Competency
  • Online Teaching & Management
  • Classroom Teaching & Management

Optional modules include:

  • Experiential Learning
  • Teaching Portfolio (This counts for two optional modules and will be facilitated by experienced faculty through a half-day workshop, one-on-one mentoring, and peer observation.)
  • Assessment Design
  • Teaching Large Classes

Timeline

  • August: Faculty will participate in New Faculty Orientation where they will be introduced to the Faculty First Flight program.
  • September: Faculty will complete the Teaching & Learning module.
  • October: Faculty will complete the Principles of Course Design module (includes some content from Backward Course Design, which was replaced with Teaching Portfolio).
  • November: Faculty will complete the UNT Policy & Resources module (includes Academic Integrity).
  • December: Faculty will participate in a mid-year workshop that will focus on networking and sharing teaching ideas. 
  • January: Faculty will complete the Accessibility module and the Teaching with Technology modules. The Teaching Portfolio option will launch in January and runs through April.)  
  • February: Faculty will complete the Cultural Competency module.
  • March: Faculty will complete Online Teaching & Management and Classroom Teaching & Management modules.
  • April: Faculty will select and complete two additional modules from a selection of topics designed to address individual teaching needs and/or interests.
  • May: Faculty will participate in an end-of-year celebration for completing the Faculty Flight program.

Brief Points for Academic Administrators:

  • The Faculty First Flight program provides training and support in teaching, student learning, and course design for newly-hired UNT faculty.
  • The program runs an entire academic year from Fall to Spring. Participants can expect to devote approximately five hours per month from August to May to completing modules and/or participating in face-to-face events.
  • Program content and activities are conducted online with three face-to-face events for networking and developing interdisciplinary communities of practice focused on teaching.
  • Upon completion of the program, faculty participants who have a contract (or continuing contract) for 2019-20 in place by June 1, 2019 will receive $1000 in professional development funds. 
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