Faculty Fellows 2018-20

Faculty Fellows are full-time faculty members who have demonstrated sustained, outstanding teaching and are committed to the highest principles of Ignatian pedagogy and sound learning theory. Fellows deepen the Loyola faculty's commitment to teaching through individual and small group activity, reflection and writing. Fellows form a professional learning community who share their expertise with the broader Loyola community by:

• Meeting once a month as a professional learning community to discuss effective teaching, high-impact practices, and collaboratively selected readings on teaching.
• Serving as models by opening their classrooms to faculty colleagues.
• Observing colleagues' teaching and offering suggestions for enhanced instruction and student engagement, as invited by faculty colleagues.
• Planning roundtable or brown bag discussions on elements of Ignatian pedagogy, student engagement, or high-impact practices.

Findings from the article, "The Link Between High-Impact Practices and Student Learning: Some Longitudinal Evidence," ("Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education and Educational Planning," v69 n4 p509-525 Apr 2015. 17 pp) suggest that active and collaborative learning as well as undergraduate research had broad-reaching positive effects across multiple liberal arts learning outcomes, such as critical thinking, the need for cognition, and intercultural effectiveness. Therefore, in 2018-19, the Fellows focused specifically on active and collaborative learning. Using a continuum of active learning techniques (pictured below) as the foundation for discussions and sharing, the Fellows began creating a series of videos about active learning practices in Loyola classrooms.

Activities and Outcomes

In 2018-19, the Fellows spent significant time learning and analyzing the research on high-impact practices and active learning. They also engaged in peer observation and coaching, sharing and discussions about each other’s syllabi, and a thorough review of institutional data with a focus on access and equity.

Active Learning Videos

Mavis Bliss

Mavis Bliss discusses one way to actively engage students in classroom discussions—called the Five Minute Essay.

Jeremy Schwartz

Jeremy Schwartz shares how he uses classroom polling to get instant feedback from his students, to assess their knowledge, and to facilitate active learning.

Kelly Keane

Kelly Keane discusses brainstorming techniques to foster simple, yet powerful active learning. She shares three strategies, all focused on divergent thinking, that promote brainstorming. These techniques encourage total participation, helps students build off of each other's responses, and work in a variety of settings.

Ravi Srinivasan

Ravi Srinivasan engages students in his classroom by making connections between the subject matter and their real-life experiences. This ranges from hands-on experiences (such as using legos to practice lean principles and waste reduction) to site visits.