Starting Their Duke Faculty Careers With a Focus on Teaching

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As the university welcomes a new class of students, a roomful of new faculty members spent half a day focusing on the topic of teaching. “This event provides an opportunity for you to innovate, discuss, explore and creatively vision yourself as a teacher,” said Sherilynn Black, associate vice provost for faculty advancement. “Throughout your career, you will continually find ways to evolve your approach to teaching.”

“Personally, I love teaching,” said Abbas Benmamoun, vice provost for faculty advancement, “and I’m still learning. Whenever I watch a colleague teach, I learn something.”

Black invited participants to reflect on how they developed their style as a teacher and mentor. “The more connected my personal style is to my teaching, the better that I’m able to connect with students,” Black noted. “Research shows that the ways we perceive ourselves as communicators may differ from the ways that others experience our communication. Understanding your personal communication strengths is a very important step towards developing your personal style as a teacher.”

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She continued, “Your personal values inform the way that you interact with your students, share content and subject matter, and approach the environment of your classroom.” For example, if a professor highly values a sense of belonging, that could show up as spending additional time learning students’ names and intentionally forming student groups.

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Moving into the topic of cultivating a learning community, Aria Chernik noted that she doesn’t use the term syllabus in her courses. “I call it a project guide, because I do a lot of project-based learning,” said Chernik, who is assistant vice provost for faculty development and applied research. “The more you engage in dynamic, robust, process-oriented learning, the more you engage in a community of learning.”

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The Transformative Teaching mini-retreat, organized by the Office for Faculty Advancement and Duke Learning Innovation and Lifetime Education, featured interactive activities led by Black and Chernik, plenty of time for discussion and networking, and links to helpful resources.

“We are really dedicating a lot more resources and thinking to how we can support teaching excellence at Duke,” Chernik concluded.

Quick Guide: Key Teaching Resources

General Resources 

• Teaching Resources for New Faculty
• Creating a Learner-Centered Syllabus Toolkit
• Create an Inclusive & Equitable Course
• Foster an Active Classroom
• Use Student Teams Effectively
• Choose Course Materials
• Teaching Large Classes
• Plan & Refine Your Course
• Design & Grade Coursework
• Alternative Strategies for Assessment & Grading

AI and Education

• AI Ethics Learning Toolkit
• Generative AI and Teaching at Duke
• Let’s Not Know Together: A Duke Portrait of Practice about Generative AI in Writing 201

Duke’s central AI website offers several resources relevant to faculty:

• AI Tools & Resources
• Teach with AI
• Work with AI 

LILE Online Office Hours

LILE is here to answer your questions and support your pedagogical development! Online open office hours are available; no appointment needed.

Zoom link: duke.zoom.us/my/dukelearninginnovation

• Mondays from 1 to 3 p.m. and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Wednesdays from 10 - 11 a.m. (AI-focused office hours)

Canvas

Duke uses the Canvas learning management system. Here are some helpful resources for teaching with Canvas at Duke:

• Learning Canvas: If you’ve never used Canvas before, start here.
• Using Canvas: Once you’re oriented to Canvas, this section has documentation specific to Duke instructors.
• Earning the UDOIT Superstar Badge: UDOIT is an accessibility tool that scans course content, identifies possible accessibility issues and guides you through how to resolve those issues.
• Getting Help: You have 24/7 access to support directly from Canvas, or you can schedule a one-on-one consultation with a LILE representative.

About the Office for Faculty Advancement (OFA) 

OFA offers faculty and leadership development programs and partners with schools, departments and units to enhance faculty growth and success. We work to recruit and retain outstanding faculty and promote a welcoming academic culture and community.

About Duke Learning Innovation & Lifetime Education (LILE)

LILE is Duke’s central source for teaching and learning innovation. We increase teaching and learning effectiveness through a culture of data-informed and research-driven educational innovation.