The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary suggests at least two senses of the word “understanding”: knowing, comprehending, cognizing, or to achieve a grasp of the nature, significance, or explanation of something; and to show a sympathetic or tolerant attitude toward something. We adopt these meanings in our series of workshops on “Global Understanding.” For us, global understanding is gaining the knowledge of power structure, relationships and frameworks, but it is also about sensitivity, acceptance, and attitudinal change. Our Workshop on Global Understanding takes a theme or phenomenon—religion, race, ideology, the environment, poverty—and explores how it plays out globally and in our own communities, the crises and near-crises situations that have arisen, ethical issues that arise from (and their implications for) the choices we make, and concrete steps that can be taken in our appreciation for diversity in this global village. The ultimate goal is to bring the knowledge and attitudinal changes into what we do in the classroom, thereby to educate our students on global understanding as a major step in their education for global citizenship.

In 2004-2005, the Institute for Global Initiatives invites KSU faculty to participate in a year-long series of workshops for faculty on “Understanding and Religion in a Multi-Faith Classroom and Learning Environment.”

Sponsors: The series is sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), the Institute for Global Initiatives (IGI), the RTM Institute for Leadership, Ethics and Character (ILEC), the Office of the Interim VP for Diversity and Human Resources, and the Office of the President.

Number of Participants: 25 faculty participants selected through a competitive application process.

Workshop Dates:
Please note this before applying for the workshop: To complete the program, a participant must attend at least four of the five workshop sessions during the fall and spring semesters, plus all Maymester sessions. All sessions come with breakfast and lunch. Books and materials will be supplied.

Each workshop session will focus on a specific religion or religious theme. The earlier workshop sessions (Fall and Spring) will feature an in-depth study of the main religions, using appropriate texts and materials. This will include but not limited to: Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism. The Maymester sessions will tie these together with emphasis on both senses of the word "understanding", i.e., the content knowledge, promotion of peaceful and meaningful interaction, and pedagogical tools for the classroom.

The workshops will be conducted by KSU faculty experts and guest speakers from the community representing the specific religions.

Fall Semester
November 12, 2004 | 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon | Room TBA

Spring Semester
January 28, 2005 | 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon | CETL Conference Room
February 25, 2005 | 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon | Room TBA
March 25, 2005 | 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon | CETL Conference Room
April 22, 2005 | 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon | CETL Conference Room

Maymester
May 23, 2005 | 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon | CETL Conference Room
May 24, 2005 | 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon | CETL Conference Room
May 25, 2005 | 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon | CETL Conference Room

Workshop Goals/Objectives/Outcomes:
Goals/Objectives
· To increase religious awareness, understanding, and acceptance on KSU campus
· To equip faculty and staff with skills to address issues of religious diversity in the classroom
· To provide in-depth content knowledge of major world religions
· To promote global and ethical understanding using religion as one of the vehicles

Expected Outcomes:
1. Personal growth and development for all participants, especially to enable faculty to more effectively manage classroom and out-of-classroom situations, create a safe environment where religion intersects with the topics they teach, and advance diversity in the classroom involving multiple religions among the student body.
2. Faculty participants will develop course modules that they will share with colleagues in their disciplines and/or departments; make a presentation to a small group or at a conference; develop assignments for their students that incorporate materials from the workshop.
3. Scholarship of teaching and Learning: write a paper and present it at a conference; this presentation may be on lessons, models or best practice learned/developed during the workshop. Faculty who take this step will receive $300 support for travel to present their work.