WISE: Western Instructors Sharing Excellence

At Western Carolina University, teaching excellence grows through community. The Coulter Faculty Commons is pleased to announce the WISE (Western Instructors Sharing Excellence) Program. WISE invites instructors to share their most impactful teaching methods, innovative strategies, and effective uses of technology with colleagues across the institution.

Outstanding universities are defined not just by what happens in individual classrooms but by the cultures of knowledge-sharing that connect them. When instructors collaborate openly around their teaching practices, the benefits extend beyond any single course by enriching student learning, deepening collegial ties, and driving meaningful pedagogical growth.

As Lee Shulman puts it, ”Those who can, do. Those who understand, teach.”

WISE embodies this spirit: the best educators both practice and profess, and we grow stronger when we learn from one another.

WISE creates intentional opportunities for instructors to:

• Celebrate innovation and make excellent teaching visible
• Observe diverse pedagogical approaches across disciplines
• Cultivate reflective practice and dialogue around meaningful learning
• Build a community passionate about teaching and student success

WCU’s commitment to student success begins with supporting the people who teach them. In a time when teaching can feel isolating, WISE affirms a simple truth: we are better, and wiser, together.

Upcoming WISE Program Sessions

We are excited to kick of the WISE Program with three sessions, led by award-winning WCU faculty members Ben Steere, Kim Hall, and Emily Naser-Hall.

WISE Program Fall Lineup: 

• October 21 | 1:30-2:30 pm
  Ben Steere: A Long-distance Running Approach to University Teaching: Applying Ideas from Endurance Running to Course Design, Assessment, and Teaching Philosophy
• October 22 | 12:30-1:30 pm
  Kim Hall: Playful Pedagogy: Designing for Engagement, Confidence, and Deeper Learning
• November 11 | 2:00-3:00 pm
  Emily Naser-Hall: Collaborative Course Design: Building a Classroom Collective

All three WISE Program sessions are held in the Flex Space (Hunter Library 101A).

WISE Program Session Descriptions

A Long-distance Running Approach to University Teaching: Applying Ideas from Endurance Running to Course Design, Assessment, and Teaching Philosophy

One of my biggest interests outside of teaching is long distance running. Over the last ten years, I have incorporated strategies and ideas from long distance running to make my teaching more student-centered, better organized, and fun. For example, I build my schedule of assessments in the way that a running coach might build a 15-week training plan, with each week aimed at meeting a clear goal and building on progress made in prior weeks. Likewise, I use insights from anthropological and sports science scholarship about running to help organize classes, group assignments, projects, and exams. Finally, at the broadest level, both running and scholarship are difficult, but incredibly rewarding. Some of the same techniques that runners use to finish long races or stick with training plans when they are tired can help students finish a long paper or successfully finish a difficult semester and feel proud of their results.

Playful Pedagogy: Designing for Engagement, Confidence, and Deeper Learning

Playful pedagogy uses curiosity, creativity, experimentation, and purposeful play to support meaningful learning. This interactive workshop will introduce practical strategies for incorporating playful approaches into higher education while maintaining academic rigor and alignment with learning objectives. Participants will experience hands-on activities that demonstrate how low-stakes exploration, collaborative challenges, gamified entry points, and creative problem-solving can increase student engagement and confidence. The session will also consider how playful learning can address common barriers to participation, including fear of failure, uncertainty, and disengagement. Rather than treating play as separate from serious academic work, the workshop frames it as a structured approach that encourages students to take intellectual risks, develop resilience, and move from initial uncertainty toward deeper understanding and mastery.

Collaborative Course Design: Building a Classroom Collective

Collaborative course design builds a classroom community of students who see themselves as co-creators of knowledge. This workshop will demonstrate strategies for constructing a collective classroom in which students participate in mutual design with the trust that their input and unique scholarly identities have value. I will demonstrate two activities that invite students to participate in course design and establish trust at the start of each semester: an Interactive Course Guide, which gives students an opportunity to provide feedback on the course trajectory, and an Introductory Survey, in which students share more about their interests and outside obligations so I can learn more about them as complete humans who exist beyond our classroom walls. These activities establish the foundation for students to feel comfortable sharing their interests and expertise, which guides them through the rest of the semester as curious explorers of their own scholarly identities.