By Maura MacPhee
The brown bag article for today drew some excellent conversation among participants. Although there were criticisms about the lack of evidence in the article, the group agreed that the topic was worth discussing—socialization to teaching.
Our discussion focused on team teaching. When faculty members work effectively in teams, real synergy results from the range of pedagogical knowledge and theoretical and clinical expertise. Unfortunately, with work overload, many faculty members find it more convenient to break off from teamwork and create their course materials on their own.
What’s needed to break old habits? One participant in the brown bag, for instance, mentioned that the UBC School of Nursing has aspired to do team teaching in the past. We strategized on ways to bring us back together as effective teams.
Some suggestions:
- “Begin small.” Start with one course and invite interested faculty members to meet for a half-day to review/revise the syllabus, course materials and evaluation strategies.
- “Bring in some new blood.” Invite adjuncts, clinical instructors and continuing clinical associates (CAs) to be part of the mix. In other words, don’t pre-determine who should be on course teaching teams-invite previous/current course leaders and open it up to anyone who is interested in participating.
- “Mentor as much as possible.” Although planned brownbags, workshops and team meetings provide opportunities for interested faculty members to gather and promote learning among each other, learning through a wise mentor is, perhaps, the best way to learn on the jobJ
- “Culture matters.” All of us need to promote continuous learning, adult learning and curiosity among our peers.
Please post your comments. Thanks, Maura
