Cohort-based Programs

Cohort-based programs are professional development opportunities that consist of collaborative groups of faculty members working together for a common goal. These programs are designed for faculty members who are looking for an ongoing professional development opportunity and interested in working in multidisciplinary groups. During the semester, members will meet 4 to 5 times to discuss current research, develop new strategies and techniques, and work together to improve teaching. Groups are faculty-driven and provide a supportive environment for exchanging ideas.

Jump to details about the following cohorts:

Book Groups

Read and meet with colleagues to discuss a book related to our programming theme.

Books for 2025-26

There are discussion groups for the following four books:

The Impact of Sense of Belonging in College by Erin Bentrim and Gavin W. Henning (Editors)
- Facilitated by Amanda Colosimo
Trans Figured: On Being a Transgender Person in a Cisgendered World by Sophie Grace Chappell
- Facilitated by Bob Muhlnickel
Educator Wellness: A Guide for Sustaining Physical, Mental,Emotional, and Social Well-Being by Tina H. Boogren and Timothy D. Kanold
- Facilitated by LaToyaCollins
Food Insecurity on Campus: Action and Intervention by Clare L. Cady and Katharine M. Broton (editors)
- Facilitated by Ryan Messenger and Amy Greer

If you are interested in joining one, please email TCC coordinator Melis Kural for more information.

Books for 2024-25

Equity by Design: Delivering on the Power and Promise of UDL by Mirko Chardin and Katie R Novak
Games: Agency as Art by C. Thi Nguyen
Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice by Maryellen Weimer
The New College Classroom by Cathy Davidson and Christina Katopodis
Punished for Dreaming by Bettina L. Love

Books for 2023-24

Grading for Growth by David Clark and Robert Talbert
Teach Students How to Learn by Saundra Yancy McGuire
The Courage to Learn: Honoring the Complexity of Learning for Educators and Students by Marcia Eames-Sheavly, Paul Michalec, and Catherine Wehlburg
The Ethics of Care by Virginia Held

Books for 2022-23

Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans
Practical and Professional Ethics: Key Concepts by Wade L. Robison
Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms by Joe Feldman

Book for 2021-2022

Relationship-Rich Education by Leo Lambert and Peter Felten
As described by the publisher, "Drawing on nearly 400 interviews with students, faculty, and staff at 29 higher education institutions across the country, Relationship-Rich Education provides readers with practical advice on how they can develop and sustain powerful relationship-based learning in their own contexts. Ultimately, the book is an invitation—and a challenge—for faculty, administrators, and student life staff to move relationships from the periphery to the center of undergraduate education."

Book for 2020-2021

So You Want to Talk About Race? by Ijeoma Oluo
Oluo, whose work has been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Elle, and the Guardian, has written a book that "guides readers of all races through subjects ranging from intersectionality and affirmative action to 'model minorities' in an attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race and racism, and how they infect almost every aspect of human life."

Reflective Practice Groups

Reflective Practice Groups are a nationwide professional development model established to improve student learning and success by supporting educators reflecting on and improving their practice. A Reflective Practice Group helps you reflect critically about your teaching among friends. RPGs are led by a trained facilitator and use structured protocols to look at curriculum, teaching dilemmas, student work, peer observations, and pivotal moments so that participants can provide each other with specific and actionable feedback.

RPG Videos

Spring 2025

Reflective Practice Group (RPG) with a Focus on Assessment
Date: March 19, 2025
Time: 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
Location: TCC room (12-201)

Presenter: Natasha Chen

First Year Faculty Series

First year faculty meeting in small groups.

The First Year Faculty Series (FYFS) is a series of monthly seminars facilitated by MCC’s Teaching and Creativity Center. The purpose of this series is to introduce you to the MCC community, offer a supportive environment to help you transition to your new role as a full-time MCC faculty member, and provide professional development to support your on-going growth as an instructor of community college students. During the series, we will use the Critical Friends model for professional development to help you integrate into the culture at MCC as reflective practitioners. FYFS is led by facilitators trained to use structured protocols to look at curriculum, student work, and pivotal moments so that participants can provide each other with usable and wanted feedback. Through this work, you will develop a cohort within the larger MCC community. The meeting agendas will be responsive to the faculty’s changing needs throughout the year. FYFS meets on Fridays once a month from 3 – 5 pm.

Second Year Faculty Series

Second year faculty paired off in discussions around a square table.

The purpose of the Second Year Faculty Series (SYFS) is to help pre-tenured faculty explore and develop college citizenship within a supportive cohort. Faculty will have the opportunity to continue to reflect on teaching in order to improve instruction and student learning, to learn about the college structure and resources, and to contribute as an active and productive member of the college community. The series is organized around two projects. The first is action research, where each faculty will choose an aspect of instruction to modify and assess. The second project affords faculty the time, space and resources to explore an area of interest at the college, assess the needs of that area and propose an improvement to implement. The expected time commitment for SYFS is similar to an active college wide committee. SYFS meets on Fridays once a month from 3 – 5 pm.

Faculty Inquiry Groups (FIGs)

A FIG is a group of faculty members from different disciplines who come together with the goal of exploring a specific pedagogical issue. During the semester, members will meet regularly to discuss current research, develop new strategies and techniques, and work together to improve teaching. FIGs are faculty-driven and provide a supportive environment for exchanging ideas. If you are interested in forming a FIG, please contact the TCC.

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