{"id":1226,"date":"2015-10-06T11:39:51","date_gmt":"2015-10-06T16:39:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/ctl\/?page_id=1226"},"modified":"2025-08-11T16:18:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T21:18:14","slug":"classroom-consultants","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/ctl\/classroom-consultants\/","title":{"rendered":"Classroom Consulting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Augsburg\u2019s Classroom Consulting program is designed to offer individualized and course-specific faculty development through confidential peer partnerships. The program is run solely by the Center for Teaching and Learning and operates fully outside the tenure and promotion review process (see\u00a0confidentiality policy<\/a>). Any Augsburg instructor is welcome and encouraged to work with a consultant whether their goal is addressing a specific problem, exploring strategies to more fully engage students, or seeking ideas to reenergize a course.<\/p>\n

Classroom consultants are available on an on-call basis to offer assistance to fellow faculty members. Assistance and support, provided without record and in strict confidence, may take several forms including observations of classroom teaching, review of course materials, discussions of classroom management strategies, strategies specific to online courses, or conducting focus groups with students. Because consultations are course and faculty-specific, an initial meeting between the consultant and faculty member will be used to determine the goals and needs of the faculty member.<\/p>\n

If you would like additional information or would like to arrange a meeting with a consultant, please contact Robert Groven at facdev@augsburg.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n

*<\/span><\/strong> Indicates consultants with hybrid and\/or online teaching expertise.<\/p>\n

Natural Sciences w\/Lab<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Jennifer Bankers-Fulbrigh\"Jen\"<\/a>t\u00a0(known as “Dr. B” to her students), Associate Professor of Biology. She has been at Augsburg since fall 2008 and received her Ph.D. in Immunology from Mayo Graduate School in Rochester, MN. \u00a0Jen’s preferred teaching style is student- and learning-focused with a lot of real-life application and humor mixed in.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"\"Michael Wentzel<\/strong>, Terry \u201973 and Janet Lindstrom Endowed Professor and Chair of Chemistry.<\/span> He has been at Augsburg since 2011 and earned his PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Minnesota. Michael\u2019s teaches the traditional viewed as impossible organic chemistry course sequence. He tries to instill confidence in his students by using guided-inquiry learning. This method helps them discover complicated concepts on their own from basic chemical principles instead of showing them answers and then explaining why! He also utilizes YouTube to create content for both lecture and lab.<\/span>
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Non-Lab Natural and Social Sciences<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Presentation1\"<\/a>Andy Aoki*<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Professor of P<\/span>olitical Science. He has taught at Augsburg since 1988 and earned his PhD in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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\n\"BD\"<\/a><\/strong>Ben Denkinger* <\/span><\/strong>Associate Professor of Psychology, and Director of Assessment. He has been at Augsburg since 2011 and earned his PhD in Cognitive and Biological Psychology from the University of Minnesota. Ben teaches courses in introductory psychology, research methods & statistics, the psychology of aging, and cognitive psychology. His courses blend traditional lectures, demonstrations of experiments, small and large group activities, experiential learning, service, and volunteerism. He also tirelessly plumbs the depths of pop culture to find relevant and approachable applications of concepts, and can assure you that his interests in television, movies, and video games are purely pedagogic.\u00a0<\/span>
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\"NF\"<\/a>Nancy Fischer, Professor of Sociology and Department Chair. Nancy embraces interdisciplinary work – she teaches in Urban Studies, the Gender, Sexuality and Women\u2019s Studies and in the Environmental Studies programs. She has been at Augsburg since 2005 and earned her PhD in Sociology from the State University of New York – Albany. \u00a0\u00a0Her courses emphasize analyzing inequalities involving Gender, Sexualities, Race\/Ethnicity and Class as well as developing a sense of civic agency and civic engagement through experiential projects that are community-based in the Twin Cities.<\/span><\/strong>
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\"SH\"<\/a>Stella Koutroumanes Hofrenning, <\/strong>Professor of\u00a0Economics and Department Chair. She has been at Augsburg since 2000 and earned her PhD in economics from the University of Illinois-Chicago. As a child of Greek immigrants, Stella learned English as a second language in the Chicago public schools and was the first in her family to graduate from college. Her family moved back to Greece at age 16 and she lived in Athens, Greece for 6 years until she returned to the U.S. for graduate school. Stella is energized working with immigrants and first generation college students on quantitative student faculty research projects. Her teaching goal is to develop rigorous, analytic problem solving skills through the use of economic theory and real world applications.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"\"John Zobitz <\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>Professor of Mathematics. He has been at Augsburg since 2007 and earned his PhD in Mathematics from the University of Utah. He is also a member of the Environmental Studies faculty. \u00a0John teaches classes at all levels – from developmental mathematics to upper division mathematics. \u00a0A core principle of his teaching practice is the utilization of collaborative and active learning techniques with differentiated instruction responsive to the needs of all students. John works to create a welcoming classroom environment because he believes learning happens by doing and that \u201cpractice makes [you] better\u201d.<\/p>\n

Fine Arts and Humanities<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"102015_Darcey<\/a><\/strong>Darcey Engen,<\/strong> Professor of Theater and Department Chair. Darcey has been teaching at Augsburg since 1997. She teaches over seven courses in the department including Advanced Acting, Voice for Stage and Screen and Movement for the Actor as well as directs a main-stage production each season. She earned her M.F.A. in Acting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she specialized in voice and movement training for the stage. She particularly enjoys connecting performance skills (vocal dexterity and physical presence) to careers outside the field of theater. Darcey believes performing the self can be one of the most important aspects of a successful professional life.<\/p>\n

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\"\"Mary Elise Lowe<\/strong>, Ph.D. is Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Augsburg. She is the co-author of\u00a0ReEngaging ELCA Social Teaching on Sexism\u00a0<\/i>with Mary J. Streufert, Ph.D. (Fortress 2025). She regularly published and teaches in the fields of Christian theology and queer theologies and trauma and religion. Prof. Lowe has been at Augsburg University since 2003. She offers courses in Religion and Philosophy that focus on helping students recognize, support, and strengthen their core beliefs and commitments. In the last few years, Prof. Lowe has adapted her courses to align with trauma-informed pedagogy, and she has also added the lenses from\/of intersectionality and cultural wealth to her teaching tool kit.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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*<\/span><\/strong> Indicates consultants with hybrid and\/or Moodle expertise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Augsburg\u2019s Classroom Consulting program is designed to offer individualized and course-specific faculty development through confidential peer partnerships. The program is run solely by the Center for Teaching and Learning and operates fully outside the tenure and promotion review process (see\u00a0confidentiality policy). Any Augsburg instructor is welcome and encouraged to work with a consultant whether their … Continue reading “Classroom Consulting”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":147,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":7,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1226","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/147"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1226"}],"version-history":[{"count":77,"href":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4245,"href":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1226\/revisions\/4245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}