Fall 2026 Book Discussions
Join colleagues from a variety of disciplines to engage in collegial inquiry. Books are available upon request at registration. Please select the book title of interest for more information on the discussion and registration.
What does effective, evidence-informed teaching look like in our disciplines and for our students?
Join colleagues from across campus for a two-session faculty book discussion centered on Carl Wieman’s Improving How Universities Teach Science. Although the book focuses on science education, this event is open to faculty from all disciplines. Together, we will use Wieman’s work as a starting point for examining how students learn and how evidence about teaching and learning might inform our own classrooms.
The discussion will follow a jigsaw format. Participants will not be expected to read the entire book in advance. Instead, each session will focus on selected portions of the text: the first session will explore Wieman’s key ideas, while the second will consider how those ideas might be adapted to participants’ own disciplines, courses, and students.
No background in STEM or educational research is required.
All faculty are welcome.
Book: Carl Wieman, Improving How Universities Teach Science: Lessons from the Science Education Initiative
Format: Two-session faculty book discussion and jigsaw
Facilitator: Kamal Dulai, FCETL Faculty Fellow
Dates/Times:
- Session A: Wednesday 21st October at 8:00am –9:00am or Thursday 22nd October at 8:00am –9:00am
- Session B: Wednesday 18th November at 8:00am –9:00am or Thursday 19th November at 8:00am –9:00am
Location/Access: HyFlex, FDC Room 114, and Zoom link
Session 1: Explore & Discuss
Rather than asking everyone to read the entire book, we'll use a book jigsaw. Participants will read selected portions of the book and work with colleagues to identify important ideas, questions, and implications. Groups will then share what they discovered so that everyone leaves with an understanding of the book's major themes.
Session 2: Apply & Design
We'll move from Wieman's ideas to our own classrooms. What does the evidence suggest we might reconsider about our teaching? Which ideas translate readily across disciplines, and which require adaptation? Participants will identify one idea or practice they would like to explore in one of their own courses.
You do not need to be in a STEM discipline, be an expert in educational research, or read the entire book in advance. Bring your experience as a teacher, your questions, and your curiosity about how students learn.
Facilitators: Karen Zandarski and Lauren Fletcher
Join us for a four-part book club discussion of The Joyful Online Teacher by Flower Darby.
In The Joyful Online Teacher, Flower Darby offers practical, research-informed strategies for making online teaching more enjoyable, meaningful, and effective. Drawing on the sciences of learning, emotion, and motivation, and the stories of online instructors, Darby explores how educators can build connection, develop rapport, navigate structural inequities, and find greater joy in online teaching.
This book club will include both asynchronous and synchronous discussion. We will meet asynchronously twice so that we can experience and reflect on the student experience in an asynchronous course while participating on our own time and at our own pace. We will also meet for two one-hour conversations over Zoom.
All registered participants will receive a copy of the book. We encourage participants to read the book alongside us as we move through the discussion. At the same time, we understand that some weeks may only allow time for skimming. Our conversations will build not only from the book, but also from our own experiences, perspectives, questions, and shared resources related to online teaching.
Discussion Schedule
October 12 - 16 Asynchronous Session 1
An introduction to the book and an opportunity to unpack our feelings, beliefs, and values about online teaching
October 27 at 12:30 p.m. or October 30 at 9:00 a.m. Synchronous Session 2 over Zoom
Discussion of Chapters 1 and 2
November 2 - 6: Asynchronous Session 3
A guided exploration of Chapters 3 through 5
November 10 at 12:30 p.m. or November 13 at 9:00 a.m. Synchronous Session 4 over Zoom
Final discussion and reflection
Questions
Please email Lauren Fletcher with any questions.
Fall 2025 Book Discussions
Join colleagues from a variety of disciplines to engage in collegial inquiry. Books are available upon request at registration. Please select the book title of interest for more information on the discussion and registration.
Facilitator: Ashley Black
Join us for a faculty book discussion on The Opposite of Cheating: Teaching for Integrity in the Age of AI by Tricia Bertram Gallant and David A. Rettinger. This timely, research-informed book offers a forward-thinking approach to integrity in the era of GenAI that is centered not on surveillance or punishment, but on meaningful learning, ethical engagement, and smart, student-centered course design.
The Opposite of Cheating asks us to reimagine our teaching practices in ways that make integrity the default. The authors provide practical guidance on how to design assessments, support student learning, and promote a culture of trust and accountability across disciplines, class formats, and teaching styles.
Book discussions will be held over one session, with multiple options:
Tuesday, September 16, 3:30–5:00 PM (In person, FDC103)
Wednesday, September 17, 2:00–3:30 PM (Zoom, register for link)
Thursday, September 18, 2:00–3:30 PM (Zoom, register for link)
Register to reserve a free copy of the book and to receive the Zoom link: Register here!
Facilitator: Lauren Fletcher
Join us for a two-part faculty book discussion on The Norton Guide to Equity-Minded Teaching. This concise, practical guide invites us to reimagine our teaching through an equity lens—one that centers student belonging, access, and success. Drawing on research and lived experience, the authors provide actionable strategies for creating classroom environments where all students can thrive.
Our first meeting will focus on community building and preparing ourselves to read with purpose. Faculty and lecturers are encouraged to use the fall break to dig into the book, returning for our second session ready to share insights, questions, and applications to practice.
Meeting Dates:
- Tuesday, November 11, 9:00–10:00 AM (community-building + getting ready to read)
- Tuesday, December 9, 9:00–10:30 AM (discussion and application)
Location: TBD
Spring 2025 Book Discussions
Join colleagues from a variety of disciplines to discuss topics from AI to grant writing to free speech. Books are available upon request at registration. Please select the book title of interest for more information on the discussion and registration.
Join us to discuss two books to understand Grant Writing and how powerful a tool it can be when leading a nonprofit organization that uses grants as a major source of funding. "The Only Grant-Writing Book You’ll Ever Need: Top Grant Writers and Grant Givers Share Their Secrets" by Ellen Karsh "Demystifying Grant Seeking: What You Really Need to Do to Get Grants" by Larissa Golden Brown and Martin John Brown. This will help us in understanding how to raise funds for local organizations and to fuel the fire in community giving.
Discussions sessions are offered online (synchronously) biweekly on Fridays at 4 p.m.
Join Brett Ashmun and Mark Thompson to discuss Campus Free Speech: A Pocket Guide, by Cass Sunstein, which uses a scenario-based approach to tackling current issues of free speech and academic freedom on college campuses: from shouting down speakers to considering faculty applicants' political views to whether a university should make institutional political statements. The case-based approach and topic ensure that most readers will find themselves both agreeing and disagreeing with the author and with fellow readers.
Sunstein is the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard Law School, where he is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy. He is by far the most cited law professor in the United States. From 2009 to 2012 he served in the Obama administration as Administrator of the
White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. He has testified before congressional committees, appeared on national television and radio shows, been involved in constitution-making and law reform activities in a number of nations, and written many articles and books.
Over the course of three 90-minute discussions, join Ashley Black in taking a deep dive into the three parts of Bowen & Watson’s book: “Thinking with AI,” “Teaching with AI,” and “Learning with AI.” Meetings will be held in person, with options in both Turlock and Stockton. (Times will be determined according to participant availability.) Books will be provided.
Updated: October 05, 2026