Faculty Fellows

If you need a special accommodation to fully participate in a Center event or service, please contact the Center at ProDev@ilstu.edu.

Cultivating Effective Intergenerational and Multigenerational Classroom and Community Partnerships

Higher education institutions, including Illinois State University, are increasingly serving broader and more age-diverse student populations. Approximately 29.39% of the student population at Illinois State is older than traditional college-attending age (e.g., 18–21), with one out of every 19 students being 30 or older. In addition, approximately 64% of college students work either full- or part-time while attending school, and increasing numbers of students nationally report caregiving responsibilities for a child, aging parent, or ill family member.

This workshop will review local, state, and national statistics on the changing context of contemporary college student populations, as well as developmental best practices and evidence-based strategies. Instructors can utilize this information and these strategies to create inclusive multigenerational and intergenerational classrooms that are designed to serve students of various ages and work to promote meaningful interaction across generations. We will specifically address strategies for developing meaningful community partnerships to effectively serve diverse populations while ensuring rigorous, effective instruction.

Participants will be asked to reflect on how existing evidence-based models could be incorporated into their syllabus, assignments, and course design, as well as consider the rich potential of innovative community partnerships that can help build connections and motivation across life experiences. This workshop will also stress the importance of sustainability, practicality, and equity in designing and implementing such partnerships or course adjustments. Registration required.

Eligible Participants: Tenure-Track Faculty, Non-Tenure Track Faculty and Course Instructors, Graduate Students, Staff (AP and Civil Service)

Stipend: $100

Learn more about the stipend policy and eligibility.

Outcomes

Create or refine curriculum for students from various age ranges, caregiving responsibilities, with various employment statuses, etc.
Design activities to cultivate inclusive intergenerational classroom environments for such student groups.
Identify and connect with campus and community partners to help with the development of curriculum and classroom climates that promote

Event Information

Synchronous Meeting Date:
Thursday, May 14

Time:
9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Facilitators:
Chang Su-Russell, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences
Luke Russell, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences

Designing for Decisions: Integrating Visual Design and Data-Driven Pedagogy for Inclusive Learning

Faculty across disciplines often design assignments, cases, and applied learning activities that are intellectually rigorous but unintentionally complex in structure and presentation. When expectations are visually cluttered or conceptually ambiguous, students expend cognitive effort decoding instructions rather than engaging deeply with content. This workshop addresses that gap by integrating structured decision-making frameworks with evidence-based visual communication strategies to enhance clarity, inclusivity, and learning impact.

Co-facilitated by faculty in Management and Graphic Design, the session guides participants through a hands-on redesign process. Attendees will analyze an existing course artifact to identify cognitive overload, alignment gaps, and accessibility barriers. They will then reconstruct the task using a simplified decision framework and apply visual hierarchy principles to improve coherence and student navigation.

By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with a redesigned instructional artifact, a practical design checklist, and a measurable plan to evaluate student engagement and comprehension. The workshop is appropriate for faculty who teach with cases, data, applied projects, or complex conceptual material and seek to strengthen inclusive, evidence-informed course design. Registration required.

Eligible Participants: Tenure-Track Faculty, Non-Tenure Track Faculty and Course Instructors, Graduate Students, Staff (AP and Civil Service)

Stipend: $100

Learn more about the stipend policy and eligibility.

Outcomes

Redesign at least one existing instructional artifact using structured decision-making and visual design principles to improve clarity and inclusivity.
Apply at least three evidence-based visual communication strategies to reduce cognitive load and enhance student comprehension.
Develop a brief plan to assess the impact of their redesigned material using a measurable feedback or reflection strategy.

Event Information

Synchronous Meeting Dates:
Thursday, June 4 • 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (TBD)
Friday, June 5 • 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Zoom)

Facilitators:
Ashish Chandra, Department of Management
Anmol Shrivastava, Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts

Get “Out of the Box”—Problem Solving with Empathy

One of the biggest problems in today's society is the lack of empathy. Having empathy for others is key to solving problems. Solving problems for others transcends all discipline areas. Whether your students are future educators, nurses, designers, programmers, psychologists, entrepreneurs, social workers, or engineers, students who learn to practice empathy will excel in careers that involve educating, designing, and/or caring for others.

In this workshop, we will study how to teach empathy through experiential learning to solve problems. Participants will learn how getting out of the box and walking in someone else's shoes fosters empathy, insights, and creative confidence to find solutions that work. During this workshop, we will examine professional and educational programs that have taught employees and students to practice empathy, resulting in successful solutions to complex problems. Participants will try techniques used in Human Centered Design Thinking at the Stanford d.school. Experiential learning and problem-solving techniques will give participants a toolbox for teaching their students to practice empathy. Registration required.

Eligible Participants: Tenure-Track Faculty, Non-Tenure Track Faculty and Course Instructors, Staff (AP and Civil Service)

Stipend: $100

Learn more about the stipend policy and eligibility.

Outcomes

Discuss the power of practicing empathy
Select from workshop examples to use in their own courses
Explore various empathy-building techniques to teach their students how to practice empathy

Event Information

Synchronous Meeting Date:
Thursday, June 4

Time:
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Facilitator:
Julie Hinman, Wonsook Kim School of Art

Tipped to Thrive (T3): Small Additions for Your Large Lecture to Support Student Success in Your Course and Beyond

Faculty teaching large courses often sense that students are capable yet struggle with engagement, follow-through, or navigating unspoken expectations. These challenges are rarely due to motivation alone; they may stem from the “hidden curriculum” that many students have never been taught how to navigate. Tipped to Thrive (T3) is a hands-on, evidence-based workshop designed to help instructors address these challenges through small, practical course design choices that make a big difference for student success.

In this workshop, we will introduce participants to the idea of nudges: timely, low-effort prompts embedded directly into courses that guide students toward productive academic behaviors. Rather than adding more to an already full plate, participants will learn how to integrate brief messages, reminders, and structures that leverage the instructor–student relationship to increase engagement, persistence, and belonging in the large lecture settings.

Participants will analyze their own syllabi and course materials to identify friction points where students may get stuck, confused, or disengaged. Then, using adaptable templates and real examples, instructors will design at least one ready-to-use nudge tailored to their course, such as a weekly slide, Canvas announcement, or exam follow-up message, that can be implemented immediately. Participants should plan to bring a course syllabus and be open to brief peer feedback. By the end, faculty will leave with concrete tools, new perspectives, and practical strategies to make their courses more student-ready without increasing workload. Registration required.

Stipend: $100

Eligible Participants: Tenure-Track Faculty, Non-Tenure Track Faculty and Course Instructors, Early Career Instructors, Graduate Students

Outcomes

Identify “hidden curriculum” friction points within your course structure that contribute to student disengagement or academic struggle.
Describe strategies in a large course setting that students view as demonstrating “care,” even if not individualized
Design and apply high-impact nudges—informed by behavioral economics—to create a “student-ready” learning environment that proactively guides students toward success

Event Information

Synchronous Meeting Dates:
Tuesday, May 19
Thursday, May 21

Time:
9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Asynchronous Work Window:
Wednesday, May 20

Location:
WIH 314

Facilitators:
Sarah Boesdorfer, Department of Chemistry
Lisa Lawless, University College

Framework for Inclusive Teaching Excellence (FITE)

The Framework for Inclusive Teaching Excellence (FITE) guides CIPD’s approach to advancing inclusive teaching at Illinois State University. Designed to support instructors at all career stages, the FITE promotes growth in six dimensions: Science of Learning, Impact of Course Design, Evidence-based Pedagogy, Classroom Climate and Culture, Feedback and Assessment Loop, and Data-Informed Reflection. CIPD has built a robust suite of programming and services around this framework, offering a dynamic lineup of events and learning opportunities to meet the evolving needs of educators across the university.

Explore FITE