Teaching Squares: Enhancing Teaching Through Reflection & Collaboration
What are Teaching Squares?
- Teaching Squares is a professional development program that fosters reflective teaching through peer observation. Instructors from various disciplines form small groups to observe each other’s classes and gain insights into different teaching approaches. Unlike traditional observation methods, the focus is not on evaluating peers but on learning from their practices and considering how to apply them in one’s own courses. This process allows participants to reflect on their teaching from a fresh perspective without critique or evaluation.
How do Teaching Squares work?
- Teaching Squares operate through a simple, participant-driven process. The steps are as follows:
- Form a Group: Four instructors from different disciplines come together to form a “square.”
- Meet with your Group: Meet as a group to review the process and coordinate observation schedules.
- Observe Classes: Each participant observes the others’ classes during the agreed-upon sessions.
- Reflect: After each observation, participants reflect on what they learned and how it might enhance their own teaching.
- Group Sharing: The group reconvenes to discuss their reflections, sharing insights and experiences in a supportive, non-evaluative setting.
- For a more detailed walkthrough of the process, download Occupational Therapy Professor Jeni Dulek’s Teaching Square Planning Document.
- You can also download and read the University of Calgary’s comprehensive guide to teaching squares.
What is the time commitment?
- The program typically includes an introductory meeting (1.5 hours), four observation sessions, and one group discussion (1.5 hours). Additionally, there is some time required for scheduling, goal setting, and reflection.
Interested in Joining a Square?
- CETCI will be facilitating a teaching squares cohort in the Spring of 2025, and any full or part-time faculty or staff who are teaching during the semester are welcome to participate. Send us an email to find out more about teaching squares or fill out this Google form to be on the list for the Spring 2025 Cohort.