The Lindenwood Learning Academy's mission as it pertains to faculty is to advance development across three key areas: teaching and learning, service, and scholarship. We are primarily committed to enhancing teaching and learning through effective implementation of our RISE teaching and learning framework, while also supporting faculty growth in service and scholarly activities. Our vision is that faculty feel equipped and motivated to excel in these core areas of academic practice, ultimately enhancing student learning and success.
What We Do
We empower faculty excellence in teaching through the intentional implementation of our RISE framework—Rigor, Inclusiveness, Support, and Engagement—to foster excellence in the student academic experience.
How We Do It
- We provide direct services and programs such as workshops and course design institutes.
- We provide indirect support through collaboration and connection to resources such as book-based professional learning communities and teaching squares programming.
- We serve as institutional change agents in our promotion and evaluation of the principles of Rigor, Inclusiveness, Support, and Engagement (RISE).
About the RISE Project
The RISE Project, which officially launched in 2021, was created to describe characteristics of good teaching that are relevant to all disciplines, courses, and teaching modalities. The pillars of Rigor, Inclusiveness, Support and Engagement were chosen based on research findings that demonstrate their broad benefits for student learning and their specific benefits for students who are part of underrepresented or marginalized groups. RISE Project definitions, which are based on definitions in the research literature as well as themes collected from Lindenwood faculty are provided below.
Faculty Development Events
Our Learning Event Calendar serves as a comprehensive registration platform showcasing upcoming professional development opportunities for Lindenwood University faculty and staff. The site features detailed event dates, descriptions, and registration information for all scheduled sessions. The Learning Academy is committed to offering a diverse array of professional development options spanning four key areas: teaching and learning, scholarship, service, and leadership, ensuring faculty and staff have access to relevant growth opportunities that support their professional excellence and contribute to student success.
Faculty Development Series Offerings
The Lindenwood Learning Academy offers specialized series designed to foster connection among faculty across departments through regular, meaningful interaction with colleagues in small group settings.
- Book-Based Professional Learning Communities bring together small groups of 4-5 faculty members to engage with carefully selected titles provided by the Learning Academy. These communities meet 3-4 times over the course of a semester, creating opportunities for deep discussion and cross-departmental collaboration around shared professional reading experiences.
- Teaching Squares provide a unique opportunity for groups of 3-5 faculty to observe and draw inspiration from their peers' teaching practices. This non-evaluative experience offers one of the best ways to reconnect with the student perspective while being inspired by colleagues' innovative approaches and pedagogical expertise.
- Brown Bag Series offer informal learning opportunities around timely topics. Fall semester, we continue our popular series on preventing burnout and promoting slow productivity and wellness, while also picking back up on our experimental AI brown bags designed for both faculty and staff interested in exploring artificial intelligence applications in higher education.
- To learn more about any of these series or to register for upcoming sessions, consult our event calendar or contact the Director of Faculty Development, Meri Marsh (mmarsh@lindenwood.edu)
Additional Resources
The Learning Academy Canvas Shell provides faculty and adjuncts with access to a comprehensive collection of continuously updated resources covering key topics including the RISE Project, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, AI, Educational Technology, and other professional development areas. All faculty and adjuncts are automatically enrolled in this resource hub to ensure easy access to current materials and tools that support teaching excellence. If you cannot locate the Learning Academy Canvas Shell on your Canvas home page, please contact the Director of Faculty Development, Meri Marsh (mmarsh@lindenwood.edu).
