T&P Committee Members
In this session, members of the T&P committee will share suggestions and recommendations for building your T&P Portfolio. While the session is aimed at those who will be submitting their portfolios next fall, anyone is welcome to attend and can learn what they can be doing now to prepare for the T&P process. RSVP here or call 325-674-2455.

Research and Scholarship Session

Amy McLaughlin-Sheasby
ACU is rapidly becoming a more religiously diverse community, with students coming to us from a wide assortment of denominational backgrounds. Historically, Churches of Christ have oscillated between an ecumenical impulse (that is, a willingness to partner with Christians across denominational lines) and a sectarian impulse (the tendency to see ourselves as wholly separate and even superior to other Christians). As educators, we have a responsibility to teach and equip all of our students. In this three-part series, we will discuss the dynamics of ecumenism on campus and dream about ways to cultivate a hospitable campus for our students. RSVP here or call 325-674-2455.

Spiritual Formation Session

Our second university chaplain candidate will join us for a full day of interviews and gatherings and preach in Moody Chapel today. The Office of Spiritual Formation seeks to create pathways to greater collaboration with all parts of our campus. All faculty are invited to join us for "Cookies and Coffee With the Candidate", which will take place in the Adams Center this afternoon. RSVP here or call 325-674-2455.

Chris Cobbler and Amy McLaughlin-Sheasby
Join Chris Cobbler, Dean of Vocational Formation at ACU Dallas, and Amy McLaughlin-Sheasby, Director of Faculty Spiritual Formation, for a conversation about why faculty vocational formation matters and what it can look like on our campuses.

In their new book The Hispanic Faculty Experience: Opportunities for Growth and Retention in Christian Colleges and Universities, Octavio Esqueda and Benjamin Espinoza will discuss the stories contained in the pages about Hispanic faculty working at predominantly white Christian institutions. The stories illuminate what it is like to experience the shifting demographics of today's universities, which are bringing increasing numbers of Hispanic students even as the overall number of Hispanic colleagues remains exceedingly small. Espinoza and Esqueda will share triumphs, struggles, and insights relevant to ACU's intentions toward becoming an HSI. RSVP here or call 325-674-2455.

Multicultural Enrichment Session

Rebecca Hunter
Entry-level majors' STEM courses are often plagued by low success due to high DFW rates and frequent switching out of STEM majors. Additionally, many students, even the successful ones, experience high levels of frustration for a variety of reasons: 1) they lack effective study strategies, 2) they feel that they don't belong in STEM courses, and/or 3) they feel that the primary goal of the course is to 'weed' them out. This session will present work that has been done over the past few years in Introductory Biology I to attempt to address these issues. We have followed the model of scientific teaching, which emphasizes active learning strategies, effective assessment development, and inclusive teaching practices.

Rebecca Hunter will discuss the implementation of master testing and several inclusive teaching practices, and Jenn Hennigan will discuss the transition to active learning in the Introductory Biology classroom. Darby Ice, a student in the Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning program at ACU, will present the results of an ongoing research project assessing the effectiveness of mastery learning in Introductory Biology I during the fall of 2023. RSVP here or call 325-674-2455.

Research and Scholarship Session

Jason Fikes, Amy Boone, Shelly Sanders
Writing is not optional for academics. It's one of the key benchmarks for tenure and promotion. But how do you kickstart your writing and build successful writing rhythms and habits?

We often try a writing binge or attend a writing intensive. But, terms like "crash", "binge", or even "intensive" carry negative connotations of unsustainable and unhealthy work habits. By contrast, "sprint" is a much more appropriate word for a writing practice that is intended to motivate over a short period. It offers an energizing metaphor with an implied finish line. In this session, we will preview our first writing sprint, which will take place in the Adams Center on May 20-21. The sprint will be a concentrated two-day period in which faculty can write "alone together" at the Adams Center. For those who register, breakfast, lunch, and snacks will be provided throughout the two days, along with periodic breaks and short conversations. We hope to see you for this preview of what's to come in this inaugural writing sprint. RSVP here or call 325-674-2455.

Research and Scholarship Session

Rodney Ashlock
Do you love teaching but hate grading? Are you looking for different ways to grade your students' work? Have you heard about alternative grading methods like standards-based grading and specifications grading but would like to learn more about them? Clark and Talbert discuss the pros and cons of traditional grading methods and then argue their case for alternative grading methods that promote student learning and growth through detailed research and ample case studies. Regardless of your discipline, they offer many helpful tips and suggestions that may encourage you to rethink how you grade your students' work. This session is the last of three for this reading group. RSVP here or call 325-674-2455.

Teaching and Learning Session

Join us for a light-hearted lunchtime gathering with colleagues from across campus! Take a break from the usual routine and enjoy a relaxed meal and friendly competition with short and medium-length games. RSVP here or call 325-674-2455.

Collegiality Session

Dina Warren
Have you noticed students seem more stressed out? There are record numbers of students with anxiety and depression, with many campus counseling centers across this country at capacity. How should faculty respond? Is there a way we can help instill resilience and build self-efficacy to reduce the effects of student burnout? Com explore how trauma-informed pedagogical strategies can help, and what current research says about the benefits of using trauma-informed practices in higher education. RSVP here or call 325-674-2455.

Teaching and Learning Session

Amy McLaughlin-Sheasby
In this two-part series, we will return to a conversation we began last semester about belief and unbelief. Christians experience varying degrees of disillusionment, doubt, and confusion in the life of faith. Some Christians move through seasons of disillusionment, and ultimately arrive at a place of faithful clarity. Some, however, enter into seasons of doubt with no end in sight. This two-part series is aimed at providing space to articulate the challenges of doubt or disillusionment in the absence of clarity or certainty.

Spiritual Formation Session

Amy McLaughlin-Sheasby
For this final spiritual disciplines session of the semester, we will be focusing on the discipline of silence. Our lives are noisy, full of obligations and distractions. This time of the year seems to be especially hectic, as the countdown to the end of the semester looms over our to-do lists and occupies our thoughts. Whether silence comes easily for you, or silence terrifies you, we invite you to join us as we escape the noise for a little while. When we silence our minds, we make room to hear what's truly important.

Spiritual Formation Session

Dan McGregor
For the past several years, Dan McGregor has been engaged in visually documenting the flora and fauna of the HEB Foundation's Frio River property for a series of nature guidebooks. A fall '23 Faculty Renewal Leave allowed for a dedicated time to both work on these illustrations as well as undertake a 10-day landscape painting residency on-site in the Frio River Canyon. Dan will share some of the results of these adventures, ruminate on the role of the artist-naturalist, and (for the painting nerds) explain some of the homemade gadgets he used to make outdoor painting easier.