Evidence-Based Teaching Fellowship

 

Exploring Evidence-based Teaching Strategies to Support Student Learning

Lumen Circle’s Evidence-based Teaching fellowships introduce faculty to proven methods and techniques that have been scientifically vetted to support student learning and success. Using Lumen Circle’s evidence-based teaching framework, fellows delve into topics such as backward design, learning outcome alignment, differentiated instruction, and assessment design and use.

Benefits of Evidence-Based Teaching Practices

  • An increased likelihood of positive student outcomes
  • Takes the guessing work out of teaching by providing specific approaches and programs that improve student performance
  • Increased accountability in teaching by utilizing evidence-based teaching strategies; educators use data to provide a rationale for specific learning strategies for students
  • Promotes quality, efficacy, and equity in instruction

Expected Outcomes of Evidence-Based Teaching Fellowship

  • Implement evidence-based teaching practices to improve student outcomes

  • Identify small teaching changes utilizing Lumen’s evidence-based teaching framework

  • Align learning objectives, assessments, and learning activities to gauge student learning and adapt teaching to meet student needs

  • Reflect and interpret data to understand the efficacy of implemented evidence-based teaching strategies and their impact on student success

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Brief Overview of the 9-Week Fellowship Curriculum

Complete your profile, familiarize yourself with the platform, your Circle mates, and the Circle focus. Meet with your facilitator and get ready to start your Circle.

Explore and Connect: Explore the platform, complete your profile, learn about the Lumen Reflective Practice model including using Appreciative Inquiry (a strength-based approach), CoP, Evidence-based teaching, and our EBIP framework, and meet each other. Write your first reflection and comment on your 2 assigned reflections and with the 2 fellows reviewing your reflection.

Supportive and Varied: Explore how creating a supportive learning environment impacts student persistence, and how varying teaching modalities and techniques keep students engaged. Write a plan to add Supportive and/or Varied evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs) to a learning activity you will teach over the next week. Report on how your plan and activities went and receive feedback from other faculty in your Circle. Give feedback to 2 of your peers on their plans and activities.

Reflection and Goal Setting: Create 1 – 3 SMART goals to target your fellowship experience.

Belonging: Explore teaching strategies that support success for all students by helping them feel seen, respected, and partners in the learning process. Write a plan to add Belonging Evidence-based Instructional Practices (EBIPs) into a learning activity you will teach over the next week. Report on how your plan went and give and receive feedback from Circle peers.

Organized and Challenging: Delve into how creating an Organized and Challenging learning environment leads to increased student achievement. Write a plan to add the associated EBIPs to a learning activity you will teach over the next week. Report on how your plan went and give and receive feedback from Circle peers.

Conclusion & Meta-Reflection: Reflect on your fellowship experience. What did you learn? What changes have you made in your teaching? What do you want to learn and do next?

My best advice is to remember that even though your are a teacher, you are still a student as there is always something more to learn. Never underestimate the knowledge you can acquire from your fellow faculty and from your students. Every semester, every week and every day is a new opportunity for exploration and innovation. My experience with the Lumen Circle has reinforced this all the more.

Carmen Lopez, Lumen Fellow, Miami Dade College

Lumen Circles is great because not only are you learning how to teach with evidence-based practices, but the instructors and the course are modeling those same practices for you in real time. We can easily forget what it’s like to be a student, but this course is a great invitation to do precisely what we ask of our students—to learn and grow in a warm and supportive environment

Dan Royles, Lumen Fellow, Florida International University

Being a part of a professional learning community full of brilliant teachers is inspiring and uplifting. Receiving ongoing feedback on my teaching ideas and assignments as they are happening during the semester is invaluable. I was able to really dig deep this term into the pedagogical theme of belonging and develop small practices to incorporate into my classes to foster a learning environment that is supportive and caring. I cannot emphasize enough the benefits of getting feedback on one’s teaching practices in real time by experts in one’s discipline. I will be using the resources and data from this program for years to come.

Lindsey Maxwell, Florida International University

The Lumens experience helps us remember what is working well in our pedagogical practice, while also providing concrete and generous opportunities to improve areas worth developing. Week after week, I leave the Circle platform inspired by what my colleagues are doing, supported by the resources offered by the Lumens team, and encouraged by the reflections I am invited to make. Taking the time to participate reminds me why I love teaching and why mindful pedagogy matters so much.

Chantelle Verna, Lumen Fellow, Florida International University

I primarily recognized an increased thoughtfulness in the development of my course activities and how I interacted with the students to implement the strategies. I have always considered myself to be intentional in creating class assignments and activities, but participating in the circle provided some foundation and strategy to what I was doing. I valued learning about appreciative inquiry and the questions that the circle leader, Jeniah, would ask to encourage deeper thought about the tasks and how we engaged with students. The interactions with other faculty were also helpful because each person was not only encouraging but they shared ideas and tips that would further enhance my teaching. I am excited to move forward and continue to utilize current strategies with greater knowledge and to implement strategies that I have not yet used.

Alaina Davis, Lumen Fellow, Howard University

What are Lumen Circles?

Lumen Circles are professional development experiences that use virtual learning communities to connect faculty members with peers and help them hone their expertise as student-centered teachers.

Grounded in evidence-based teaching practices and self-reflection, Lumen Circles work well for any faculty member, in any discipline, and at any stage of career.

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Program Descriptions & Schedule
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How Do Lumen Circles Work?

  • Set goals. Identify how you want to develop your teaching practice and pedagogical profile.

  • Build skills. Virtual, workshop-style learning opportunities expand your teaching repertory, help you work smarter through teaching “hacks,” and deepen your understanding of evidence-based practices.

  • Teach and reflect. Apply what you’re learning, consider how it’s working for your students and where to improve.

  • Share via virtual learning circles. Connect with peers, exchange feedback, and collect new ideas through expertly-facilitated learning circles. Our user-friendly platform makes it simple to connect and collaborate.

  • Recognize growth and progress. Track progress towards goals and see your teaching evolve as you incorporate new practices with students.

Pick the Offering that Works for You

We offer Lumen Circles experiences with different areas of focus, levels of depth, and duration.

  • Lumen Circle Fellowships: Build skills in targeted areas, apply what you’re learning, and collaborate within a virtual learning circle
  • Success Accelerator: Engage with peers and accelerate the path to effective teaching and learning using Lumen courseware

Learn more about which fellowship suits you in a Lumen Circles: What to Expect Webinar.

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What’s Your Role?

Your connection with students is paramount to their success, but knowing how to reach them can be challenging. Lumen Circles provide opportunities to expand your teaching repertory in areas you want to grow. You can join colleagues to learn, share ideas, compare experiences, and be part of a thriving community focused on evidence-based teaching for today’s students.

Lumen Circles complement your center’s resources and priorities. Some centers offer a full menu of programs but struggle to generate meaningful evaluation data. Others cater to new faculty, but they sometimes overlook faculty who are later in their careers. Still others struggle to meet the needs of part-time faculty or graduate students. We can tailor offerings to fit the faculty members you want to reach with skill-building and professional growth focused on teaching practices that impact student success. We also offer flexible options around pricing and scale.

Recognizing student success is a result of faculty success, Lumen Circles can help you provide a broader foundation of faculty support to transform teaching and learning with a focus on evidence-based instructional practices. We can also help you track alignment and measure progress towards institutional and faculty goals for improving teaching practice.

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Lumen Circles FAQs

Do you have a question we don’t answer here? Contact us or send a note to info@lumenlearning.com.

Lumen Circles’ evidence-based teaching framework uses a methodology and process originally adapted from research published in Taking College Teaching Seriously: Pedagogy Matters by Gail Mellow, Diana Woolis, Marisa Klages-Bombich and Susan Restler. In work funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumen expanded the framework to add a “Belonging” theme that fully incorporates practices associated with diversity, equity, and inclusion into the Lumen Circles model. The framework identifies practices that increase student success, according to research evidence. Lumen Circles’ methodology guides faculty members through a process to recognize, explore and apply these effective practices in their teaching. It helps them become more aware and purposeful about making pedagogical choices that support student success.

Primary principles include:

  • Self-reflection: Faculty fellows examine their own teaching practices to become more aware of pedagogical choices and their impact on student success.
  • Appreciative Inquiry: This inquiry method invites educators to recognize and celebrate their strengths and what’s working in their teaching practice, and then using this as a foundation for self-directed growth and improvement.
  • Evidence-based Instructional Principles: To help faculty make the learning environment more student-centered, we encourage them to explore and try out specific practices aligned in four distinct dimensions of teaching practice: Supportive, Challenging, Organized, and Varied.
  • Pedagogical Analytics: As fellows progress through the Lumen Circles experience, we measure changes in faculty teaching patterns, progress towards their teaching goals, and how this aligns with institutional goals and changes in student outcomes.

Yes. The Lumen Circles professional development platform and learning circle-focused methodology are based the work of Faculty Guild, a faculty-focused coaching service created by serial education technology entrepreneur David Yaskin and a talented team of educators. As part of a strategic decision to expand our support for effective teaching and learning practices with professional development services, Lumen Learning acquired intellectual property and the higher education assets of Faculty Guild.

We construct virtual learning circles with careful attention to the goals and context of faculty members participating in Lumen Circles fellowships. Learning circles always align with the theme of the fellowship to connect faculty with peers working to expand their teaching practice in similar directions. As a rule, learning circles include faculty from multiple institutions teaching in related disciplines, such as STEM or social sciences. We may make exceptions to this rule in order to support specific institutional objectives, such as learning circles to connect faculty with peers from their own institution.

We coordinate start and end dates for Lumen Circles fellowships and other professional development programs to align with the academic calendar and windows when the experience will be most productive for participating faculty members. Staggered start dates generally coincide with the start of term for spring (winter), summer, and fall. Depending on interest, faculty availability, and demand, we can add additional fellowship terms as needed.

Note the Lumen Circles experience does require that faculty are actively teaching during a majority of their fellowship term because reflective practice is most beneficial when there are immediate opportunities to consider teaching choices, evaluate what’s working and try out new pedagogical directions.