New faculty were welcomed to Duke Kunshan University at the Learning Innovation Fellowship (LIF), an 11-week program preparing them for teaching the undergraduate program at DKU.
Twelve professors from Asia, Europe and North America joined the sixth iteration of the LIF, which the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) has run annually since 2018.
Developed in close collaboration with Duke Learning Innovation, the fellowship is specially designed for new professors and instructors from three divisions of the undergraduate program — arts and humanities, social sciences, and natural and applied sciences.
The LIF supports fellows in developing active learning strategies and student-centered teaching practices, while familiarizing them with important academic policies at Duke Kunshan.
Another key aspect is connecting the new cohort with faculty mentors and facilitating communication among themselves.
“The Learning Innovation Fellowship has allowed us to build early connections with faculty members, familiarize them with DKU’s teaching culture and develop pedagogically sound syllabi,” said Haiyan Zhou, director at CTL.
“It is an important stimulus for faculty teaching development, enabling them to excel in their teaching and contribute to DKU’s educational mission within a faculty learning community.”
Zhou said that being part of the program since it was initiated in 2017 by Noah Pickus, now the dean for academic strategy and learning innovation, has been an “incredible journey”, adding, “I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing the growth of our faculty at DKU.”
As well as the fellows, the online sessions were attended by faculty mentors, CTL staff and CTL student partners.
Welcome messages were delivered by Dr. Bill Parsons, associate dean of undergraduate curricular affairs; Dr. Scott MacEachern, vice chancellor for academic affairs; and Dr. Marcia France, associate vice chancellor for undergraduate studies and the Language and Culture Center.
MacEachern, himself an LIF fellow in 2018, told those participating in this year’s program that it is “one of the most important things” the university does.
“Doing the very best we can in terms of teaching and learning is central to the academic mission of DKU,” he said.
“We’ve developed the curriculum in extremely challenging circumstances during a pandemic.
“It’s a testament to the quality of the faculty and staff who have worked at this that we have been extremely successful over the last five years in sustaining and developing our own programming, and helping our undergraduate students be the best scholars and learners that they can be.”
The fellows gave positive feedback following the conclusion in June of the 11-week program.
“Through this program, I have learned many methodologies and concepts that were novel to me,”
one said, pointing to the backward design approach, which prioritizes intended learning outcomes over what content should be covered.
Another said the student panel helped them to better understand the undergraduate population at DKU.
“I have learned a lot from both LIF peers and mentors, such as active learning techniques, skills and tricks, and how to prepare more inclusive syllabi to serve more and wider student community,” the faculty member added.
Others said the program was “very well structured”, contributed “tremendously” to their understanding of the Duke Kunshan teaching model and helped them “appreciate the diversity” of the student body.
