In Scot's blog he spoke of the various types of interaction or engagement. I would like to focus on the instructor-to-instructor engagement as it relates to building a thinking classroom. In our Teaching for PROWESS project, one of our colleges has set up a CCOL (Collaborative Community of Learners) in which small groups of faculty meet on a regular basis to discuss books they have read (Building Thinking Classrooms, Mathematics of Human Flourishing), create classroom activities to engage students, and dig deeper into topics like active learning, equity, grading, assessment. The other college has created FIGs (Faculty Inquiry Groups) that meet for a limited number of times (usually 5) in which they are focused on a specific goal such as creating cross-discipline activities or taking a specific course and developing materials to make available to all instructors.
Does your department have a formal or informal structure that facilitates discussions and sharing of ideas and concerns as they relate to teaching?
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Karen Gaines
myAMATYC Online Community Coordinator
Professor Emeritus - St. Louis CC-Meramec
Kirkwood MO
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