Thursday, Sep 10, 2026
Teaching and Learning Collective reflects the University’s commitment to faculty and student success
by Alix Knice
߲ݴý has developed the Teaching and Learning Collective (the Collective), a faculty-led model designed to cultivate a collaborative culture of teaching excellence through a distributed, faculty-led model. By bringing together faculty leaders, fellows and campus partners, the Collective creates a sustainable and adaptable structure for professional learning that reflects the University’s shared commitment to inclusive, evidence-informed and forward-looking instruction.
“One of our goals this upcoming year is to provide and fund more comprehensive professional development opportunities for our faculty,” says Kelly Bidle, provost and senior vice president of Academic Affairs. “This collective empowers our instructors to develop innovative teaching practices and deepen their expertise while supporting student success.”
The Collective recognizes four main pillars of faculty development: teaching with emerging technology; responsive pedagogies for student success; scholarship of teaching and learning and professional development; and high-impact teaching and experiential learning. Together, these pillars support and guide faculty through course and curriculum design that enhances student learning and delivers transformative experiences.
In its inaugural semester, the Collective will include three programs focused on considering emerging AI technology in the classroom and Rider’s commitment to first-generation students.
- Rider Critical AI Collaboratory explores engaging students in an inquiry into generative AI in cultural, economic and historical contexts.
- Redesigning Courses in the Age of AI provides a practical opportunity for instructors to evolve their courses as generative AI becomes part of everyday teaching and learning.
- Becoming “New Jersey’s Hub for First-Generation Students”: What Faculty Can Do encourages instructors to reflect on how their classrooms contribute to a broader institutional culture that aims to center the experiences of first-generation students.
Instructors can learn more about the Collective and its programs on the Teaching and Learning Collective webpage.