Faculty Professional Development

Each fall the Graduate School hosts the Barbara Biber Convocation event. The annual Barbara Biber convocation honors the contributions of Barbara Biber (1903-1993) to both Bank Street and the wider educational community. Dr. Biber was a central figure shaping the institution that evolved from the Bureau of Educational Experiments to become Bank Street College. A keen observer of children and classrooms who immersed herself in the phenomena of children’s and teachers’ lives, her writings achieved a depth of insight and conceptual elegance. As a researcher and scholar, she continuously reexamined and refined her thinking. This lecture memorializes her progressive legacy and scholarship. The Biber Convocation follows the New Student Orientation. Lecturers are carefully chosen, in the hope that their words will inspire new and returning students, staff and faculty.

The Graduate School strives to provide opportunities for faculty members to participate in professional conferences when funding is available. Those giving papers, chairing committees or attending conferences where students are recruited are generally given priority.

The College provides financial assistance for master’s degree classes offered at Bank Street and doctoral level courses at other schools. For more information, please see the Bank Street Employee Handbook on the New Hires Page under “Handbooks and Contracts.”

Faculty meetings take place monthly from September through June. These meetings are held on Fridays and usually consist of a large group meeting. The content varies and often includes small group work. Once in the fall, in January, and in June there are Division Retreats. These meetings are an opportunity for the Division to delve into a range of topics, projects, initiatives, and programs as a whole group. Logistical information and agendas are provided in advance. Meeting dates are set on the Graduate School monthly calendar.

All faculty members are expected to attend.

Each year members of the Graduate School are invited to participate in a yearlong inquiry group. The format for the work is that of an inquiry around a focus question. Members share stories from their life experience and teaching practice, bring work to describe and discuss, and read relevant literature.  The ideas that emerge from each meeting form the basis for the directions taken in future sessions—what we may read together, review of teaching practice we may share, etc.

The Series was created in the spring of 1999 as a means by which faculty members could share their own research and writing projects and create additional opportunities in collaboration with colleagues. It has prompted valuable exchanges among faculty members. Previously occurring twice a semester, the series has evolved to two types of programming and may include an invited speaker.

• The Faculty Seminar is a 90-minute session in which the faculty have an opportunity to consider the implications of a topic for their education practice. Two are scheduled each year, one in the fall and one in the spring.
• The Faculty Brown Bag Series are one-hour sessions in which faculty casually share a piece of work or an idea in which they’d like to inspire conversation with colleagues.

Both Faculty Seminar and Brown Bag programming are scheduled in the Graduate School calendar. Reminder flyers and messages go out before each session. If you have an idea or interest in particular topic or guest, please contact Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Wendi Williams (wwilliams@bankstreet.edu) who coordinates this programming.

As the Graduate School moves toward offering more courses and programs online and blended, we are providing a number of opportunities to learn more about teaching and learning using online components. Through close work with Laura Zadoff (lzadoff@bankstreet.edu) the College Instructional Designer, as well as participating in Introductory Workshops, the Faculty Blended Course, and Workshops on special topics, Bank Street faculty have a wide array of opportunities to further develop and expand their knowledge in this area. Faculty are encouraged to review the the GSE Teaching with Technology webpage for resources and evidence of faculty inquiry and learning about Bank Street progressive pedagogy online and blended.

Additionally, for one-to-one tech support, faculty may request a graduate student Tech Fellow to help with a brief tutorial. An email to techfellows@bankstreet.edu, copying Amy Kline (akline@bankstreet.edu) during summer months, will initiate this process.

Sabbatical leave policy and practice are outlined in the Professional Employees Federation contract.