Meetings & Registration

The Spring 2024 SoTL FLC topic is Relationship-Rich Education. There will be two communities: one for faculty and one for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. No prior experience with SoTL is required.

Some questions we will explore together:

• What would it look like to re-envision undergraduate education through the lens of relationships?

• What is the power of creating and sustaining relationship-rich education? What are the challenges?

• In what ways, and for whom, has undergraduate education fulfilled the promise of meaningful relationships?

• How can we spark important learning relationships in the classroom?

• What is the role of institutional culture in creating relationship-rich experiences for all?

To begin answering questions like these, we will read Peter Felten and Leo M. Lambert’s Relationship-Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College and explore the SoTL literature on the importance of relationships in undergraduate education.

Together, we will interpret evidence and discuss how to apply it to ensure all students, regardless of their background and prior experiences, can thrive in higher education. This FLC will empower you to thoughtfully consume SoTL literature with an eye toward its applications in the classroom. We hope it will also enable you to build community with fellow instructors.

As a participant, you will:

• Identify and describe guiding principles for relationship-rich undergraduate education

• Articulate why relationships matter for student learning, belonging, and success

• Assess SoTL evidence and connect findings to implications for your own practice

• Reflect on how your identity and lived experiences inform your interpretations and use of SoTL findings

• Feel increasingly confident in your ability to expand your knowledge of SoTL and relationship-rich education now and in the future.