Faculty Development at Edmonds Community College
Teaching Squares: Philosophy
Reciprocity and Shared Responsibility
Through the mutual exchange of visits with our Teaching Squares partners, we assume the dual roles of the observer and the observed, teacher and student.
We simultaneously experience and thus share the opportunities and risks of inviting others into our classrooms.
As Teaching Squares participants we jointly assume the tasks of arranging classroom visits and exchanging course information.
Self-Referential Reflection
The Partner Lunch is an opportunity to report what we have learned from the observation experience. It is not an opportunity to improve a Square Partner’s teaching. By keeping our observations self-focused, we avoid any hint of evaluation or judgment that could contribute to a climate of defensiveness and suspicion.
Appreciation
The Partner Lunch is an opportunity to identify and celebrate the behaviors and practices that create a productive environment for learning. Expressing observations in a positive way offers us a goal to be pursued and a source of energy for achieving that goal.
Mutual Respect
We enter our Square Partners’ classrooms with an attitude of empathy and respect for both the instructors and the students, recognizing that different methods and techniques are required in different disciplines.
