The theme of this year’s retreat is “Opening the Classroom Door: Creating a Culture of Dialogue and Reflection.” A critical first step is to make our teaching community property, where talking about and investigating teaching become a regular communal discourse instead of a solitary activity. In this environment, we become reflective teachers who enhance our awareness of our teaching from as many different vantage points as possible (Brookfield, 2017). In our scholarship or research, we openly seek out our colleagues for dialogue and critiques, whereas in our teaching, we are more reluctant to do so. By opening our classroom doors, our colleagues can be seen as constructive consultants rather than potential judges. Benefits of such interaction are reinvigorated teaching, exposure to additional viewpoints about teaching and learning, and being part of a teaching and learning community.

In this year’s retreat, we will hear from our colleagues and students about what excellent teaching looks like, sounds like, and feels like. Retreat attendees will have many opportunities to participate in hands-on activities, simulations, and large and small group discussions. In addition, helpful resources from our faculty presenters will be provided.

Goals of the Retreat

The goals for the Annual Faculty Retreat are to build on our collective knowledge about teaching and learning, to share innovative ideas and approaches, and to promote partnerships within and beyond the campus community.