Teaching Squares and Social Lunch Sessions
Teaching Squares are a community-building event in which about four faculty meet and talk about their teaching. They discuss strategies and tactics they use in teaching and may even choose to “visit” one another’s class sessions and/or other teaching materials (virtual class spaces, assignments, etc.). The goal is, through discussion, for each instructor to identify teaching strategies that they can borrow or adapt for their own classes, and provide feedback to one another.
Benefits:
- Seeing what other faculty are doing in their own classes this semester (new ideas to try!)
- Finding comfort in knowing that you aren’t alone in your teaching–learning how other faculty are having similar challenges and goals as instructors at Mason
- Meeting and building networks with faculty from across disciplines
- Having “another pair of eyes”–a fresh perspective—on some part of your course to provide some feedback on issues that are important to you
A Teaching Square is a formative, private conversation: this is not an evaluation of your teaching, but a chance to build some community and conversation about teaching. Stearns Center will not require a report on your Square’s work, but will ask for an anonymous evaluation of the general experience.
After a few brief orientation remarks, we will put you in a Teaching Square group within the Zoom session. If you signed up previously, you will be put into a breakout group with your assigned teaching square. If you haven’t signed up and/or are just here to learn/try it out, we will find one for you to join/try for this session. In your Teaching Square breakout group, you will introduce yourselves, discuss what you want to get out of being in a teaching square, and start exchanging ideas.
NOTE: Think of this session as a Teaching Square sample experience. You will have an opportunity at the end of the session to decide if you want to continue on with this teaching square to meet a few times in October, join a different teaching square that is more aligned with your goals, or decide it’s not for you.
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