Photographer: Kara FrisinaFLC facilitators engage participants in discussion during a past global perspectives session.

One of President Nellis’s strategic priorities is for the University to concentrate on strengthening its global engagement efforts. Supporting this priority, an interdisciplinary Faculty Learning Community (FLC) will form again this fall to explore and address issues encountered when assessing and redeveloping a course from a global perspective.

“As a campus, we’re finding a way to be more inviting to all types of students and it’s really exciting,” said Dawn Bikowski, director of the ELIP Academic & Global Communication Program in the Department of Linguistics and one of the FLC facilitators.

Sponsored by the Office of Instructional Innovation, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Office of Global Affairs and International Studies, the FLC brings together faculty from across campus to work through challenges they may encounter when assessing and redeveloping a course from a global perspective.

Topics of the FLC include:

• Incorporating a global perspective into existing, content-rich courses
• Facilitating communication between different student populations
• Increasing student participation
• Assessing multilingual students’ work

“Working with faculty across campus and different departments is always interesting, particularly for this FLC,” said Bikowski. “Everyone has something to share and leaves after just one semester with a whole set of strategies to try for their own classes, whether they be graduate or undergraduate courses, large courses, online courses or small seminars.”

Christine Suniti Bhat, a professor in counselor education in the Patton College of Education, will be facilitating the FLC with Bikowski.

“As a former participant in this FLC, I appreciated the time and space to incorporate a global perspective in my course,” said Bhat. “An added benefit was the engagement with colleagues involved in cutting-edge global pedagogy. The book Teaching with a Global Perspective, authored by Dawn Bikowski and Talinn Phillips to support this project, is a great resource.”

The FLC will take place in four sessions throughout the fall semester on the Athens Campus. Participants will receive a $1,000 stipend upon completion of their project and will receive a copy of the book Teaching with a Global Perspective: Practical Strategies from Course Design to Assessment in either PDF or print form.

All full-time faculty (including regional campus faculty) from all departments are eligible for this opportunity. The priority application deadline is August 17, 2018. For application instructions and more information, visit the global perspective web page.

The Office of Instructional Innovation (OII) serves as a catalyst to spark bold experimentation and sustainable discovery of innovative instructional models that fulfill the University’s promise of a transformative educational experience. OII provides a variety of services to faculty, staff, and students in support of academic units and online programs, as well as to advance initiatives to further the institution’s mission. Visit www.ohio.edu/instructional-innovation for more information.

Photographer: Kara FrisinaPast participants discuss strategies to incorporate global perspectives in their courses.