Current EiR Scholar
EiRP 2024
Professor Peter FELTEN
Peter Felten is professor of history, executive director of the Center for Engaged Learning, and assistant provost for teaching and learning at Elon University (US). Renowned for his groundbreaking efforts in enhancing student engagement, nurturing profound learning experiences and fostering meaningful relationships, Peter leads the university’s educational evolution. Through his leadership at the Center for Engaged Learning and as assistant provost at Elon, he spearheads research-driven initiatives focused on advancing student achievement and holistic well-being. Passionate about unravelling the mysteries of learning and driving positive transformations in individuals, institutions, and societies, Peter embodies a relentless curiosity for cultivating meaningful change.
He has published seven books about undergraduate education, including Connections Are Everything: A College Student’s Guide to Relationship-rich Education (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2023) co-authored by Isis Artze-Vega, Leo Lambert, and Oscar Miranda Tapia – with an open access online version free to all readers. His next book, The SoTL Guide, is co-authored by Katarina Mårtensson and Nancy Chick, and will be published in late 2024. He is on the advisory board of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and is a fellow of the Gardner Institute, an organisation that works to expand equity and justice through higher education. Check out Elon University’s pages to know more about Peter Felten, or learn more about Peter’s scholarship.
His research interests include: Higher education teaching and learning; relational higher education; faculty/educational development; higher education reform; belonging, mattering, and well-being; students as partners
Peter actively engaged with the NUS community on campus in September and will continue to engage virtually until November 2024. While at NUS in September 2024, Peter delivered the EiRP-Ruth Wong Memorial Lecture on Education 2024 titled Teaching and Learning in a Time of Generative AI: Reflections on Relationships, Trust, and Wellbeing. He also led workshops, engaged in dialogues with the NUS staff and student community, and participated in various campus activities.
If you missed these engagements, you can catch up by reading the key takeaways from Professor Peter Felten’s sessions.
To arrange for an engagement with Prof Peter Felten via an online Zoom meeting, whether as a group or individually, please reach out to our EiRP coordinators, Dr Kiruthika Ragupathi and Ms Ma Lin Lin.
EiRP-Ruth Wong Memorial Lecture on Education 2024
Teaching and Learning in a Time of Generative AI: Reflections on Relationships, Trust, and Well-Being
Date: 03/09/2024 (Tuesday), 3.00pm – 4.30pm
Venue: University Hall Auditorium
Target audience: NUS Faculty, Staff, and Students
Synopsis:
What is the future of higher education teaching and learning in a world of generative AI? Answers to that question tend to focus on the evolving capacities of technology. In this talk, I will invite you to consider that question by starting with what we know about learning and teaching. Human relationships are at the heart of education. Guidance – challenge and support – from trusted experts is central to learning and personal development. Peer and near-peer connections enable growth and well-being. Higher education in an AI-driven world needs to attend critically to both technology and people. Our task is to productively and creatively integrate AI into the very human activities of learning and teaching, allowing our students – and us – to transform in ways that contribute to thriving individuals and communities.
Missed his lecture? Watch it here.
Panel Discussion
Students as Partners: Reimagining Higher Education for a Collaborative Future
Date: 04/09/2024 (Wednesday), 10.00am – 11.30am
Venue: CTLT Dewey Room
Target audience: NUS Faculty
Synopsis:
This panel discussion will explore the evolving landscape of higher education, focusing on the crucial role of students as partners in shaping the learning experience. It aims to spark critical dialogue and inspire innovative approaches to higher education, ultimately paving the way for a future where students and educators work together to create a more engaging, equitable, and impactful learning experience. We are honored to welcome Professor Peter Felten (Elon University) and Dr. Nira Rahman (University of Melbourne), renowned experts in student-centered pedagogy and collaborative learning environments.
Faculty Workshop
Cultivating Student Connections for Motivated Learning and Well-being
Date: 05/09/2024 (Thursday), 10.00am – 12noon
Venue: Dewey Room, CTLT
Target audience: NUS Faculty
Decades of research demonstrates that the quality of student-student and student-instructor interactions profoundly influence motivation, learning, and well-being in higher education. Our teaching – whether in person, online, or in-between – can enable students to build these powerful connections, and we can do that without dedicating all of our time to teaching or our students. In this workshop, we will explore relationships as an effective, scalable, and humane approach to course design, pedagogy, and assessment. You will leave with practical ideas for research-informed ways that you can cultivate educationally powerful interactions with your students – without taking up all of your time and energy.
Student Dialogue
How You Can Help Your Peers – and Yourself – Learn, Connect, and Thrive at NUS
Date: 06/09/2024 (Friday), 4.00pm – 5.00pm
Venue: Dewey Room, CTLT
Target audience: Students
Student peer relationships are crucial for success at university – and for your well-being, too. This highly interactive session draws on hundreds of interviews with students in U.S. higher education to explore ways you can help your peers connect and thrive. We’ll also think about how supporting others can contribute to you growing as a learner, mentor, and leader.