Faculty Development at Edmonds Community College
Teaching Squares: Program Guidelines
Project Timeline
The Teaching Squares project extends over a period of four to five weeks. During those weeks, you will contact your Square Partners, arrange classroom visits, provide copies of your course syllabus, observe and reflect, and share positive comments over lunch.
Classroom Visit Duration
Class times can vary considerably. Observing an entire class session from start to finish offers the best (and least disruptive) experience for you, your Square Partner, and the students. If scheduling conflicts do not allow you to stay for an entire class, discuss with your Square Partner the least disruptive means of joining and leaving the class.
Sharing Course Information
You can help your Square Partners gain a greater appreciation of the work that you do by providing a copy of the course syllabus and any relevant handouts for that day’s visit.
Information to Share with Students
Most students are very curious about the presence of a visitor in the classroom. You may want to introduce the visiting instructor and explain the purpose for the visit. Most students are impressed to learn that their instructor is participating in a project to enhance teaching.
Arranging Classroom Visits
A classroom visit tentative schedule has been provided in the Teaching Squares Workbook. The actual visitation dates will depend on everyone’s availability. You will need to call or email your Square Partner to arrange a date and time for the classroom visit.
Partner Lunch
After completing your classroom visits, meet with your Square Partners over lunch. During lunch, reflect on the following questions:
- What did I learn from watching others that I want to start doing?
- What did I learn from watching others that I want to continue doing?
- What changes have I made in my own teaching as a result of my observations?
Program Evaluation
After the lunch, please complete the program evaluation. Your input is vital in our efforts as we continue to improve the Teaching Squares Program.
