The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning

Launch New Faculty Orientation to Teaching at Brown

The 2024 Launch Program is a synchronous, three-day overview of course design and teaching at Brown for new faculty and postdoctoral scholars. During this program, participants will develop a syllabus for their course(s), connect with resources to support teaching and learning, and see themselves as a member of Brown’s teaching and learning community.

We will offer both in-person and virtual programming. By the end of Launch, participants will:

  • Apply evidence-based practices in course design to their syllabus.
  • Meaningfully implement technology into course activities.
  • Build community with new instructors at Brown.
  • Incorporate peer feedback to develop their syllabus over time.
  • Engage with teaching and learning resources that enhance their confidence in course design (or teaching at Brown).
  • Develop an awareness of the Brown culture and environment.
  • Critically reflect on their teaching practice.

Dates and Location

Launch will convene Monday, August 5 - Thursday, August 8, 2024. On Monday, we will convene on Zoom, and Tuesday through Thursday we will meet at the Sheridan Center (201 Thayer St. - 7th Floor) and via Zoom for faculty that are still traveling to Providence.  

Tentative Schedule

Feedback from Past Participants

This is huge for feeling welcome in a new community and feeling that I have resources to draw on later in the term.

I was happy to see how much evidence there is for certain kinds of teaching approaches and practices. That makes me feel confident instead of relying on my experiences and anecdotally what 'works' in the classroom. I appreciate the references to why certain approaches are successful.

I really appreciate the care and thought that went into designing the course overall. I was working on my syllabus independently and was able to update it with the insights I gained throughout the course. I especially appreciated learning about the concept of 'invitational syllabi' and tried to implement that idea throughout my revised syllabus to the extent possible.

Registration

To participate in Launch, please register here by Tuesday, July 23rd at 12:00 PM (ET).

For more information, please contact sheridan_center@brown.edu.