Lindback Lecture 2023: Dr. Faye Allard
Winners of the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching give a presentation each spring to the Community College of Philadelphia community. Recipients are announced at Commencement each year. This year’s Lindback Lecture, “The Little Big Things,” from 2022 winner Dr. Faye Allard, discussed the importance of kindness, and how we can make a difference in the lives of others through our actions. To put this into practice, you are encouraged to share your acts of kindness at Littlebigthingsproject.com and at @littlebigthingsproject on Instagram.
Campus-wide Research Project
Faye is embarking on a campus-wide research project on the Little Big Things to see how these acts can improve communications, connections and our working environment. For this initiative, she is working with Dr. Generals, president; Danielle Liautaud-Watkins, special assistant to the president; and Dr. Lynsey Madison, coordinator of Curriculum Development and associate professor of Tourism and Hospitality Management. Dr. Madison is also the 2023 Lindback Award winner.
Seeing what acts of kindness are being performed, and the eventual research results, can help instill the idea of giving, uplifting, and validating students, which will enhance their learning, educational and customer service experiences at the College.
Title III Academic Pathways Mini-grant Opportunities
Faye has won a professional development grant to produce six workshops each semester for the College community on the benefits and progress of the Little Big Things project. Learn more about Title III office, and how we can all help expand Guided Pathways and boost student success.
Free How-to Guide to Help Others
Details about the project, the results and what was accomplished will be available online to others so they can launch a similar project at their organization.
Faye’s lecture has also received accolades in guest articles in The Philadelphia Citizen:
What does it mean to you to win a Lindback Award?
When I first started teaching here, I would have never imagined that I would receive this award! Receiving the Lindback Award to me is an honor, and joining the ranks of other Lindback winners is a very humbling experience. More importantly, it is a recognition of my students’ success because it is my students who have constantly inspired me to strive toward excellence. This award has inspired me to continue to pursue excellence in teaching and never doubt what my students can accomplish.
What is a "growth mindset," and why is it important? How can we cultivate a growth mindset?
“Growth mindset” is a concept formulated by Carol Dweck, and when this idea was introduced it was in relation to students’ learning and success. It was important for students to develop a “growth mindset” so they focus on their efforts and not consider failure as a reason to give up but rather to renew their desire to learn and strive toward success. In recent years, Carol Dweck has helped us to examine the same concept in relation to educators and how it is equally important for all educators to practice a “growth mindset.” Over the span of my teaching career, I have learned the importance of acknowledging my “fixed mindset” toward my teaching and my students’ learning, and to develop a “growth mindset” for the benefit of my students. Practicing “growth mindset” is necessary for all of us who are associated with an educational institution as it enables us to accept all students and believe in them, in order to guide them toward their path to possibilities! We all can cultivate “growth mindset” by constantly reflecting on our practices, acknowledging our “fixed mindset,” and keeping students’ success front and center of all our intentions.
What do you want people to have taken away from your lecture?
My lecture was a personal narrative about my journey in developing a “growth mindset” and how my students were mainly responsible for my growth. I sincerely hope my lecture inspires not only faculty members, but also everyone at the College to practice “growth mindset” for the sake of our resilient and brilliant students. Our students deserve this from us.