Welcome Letter

Thank you for participating in COD’s Teaching Squares program! Our hope is that through this process of observation and shared reflection, you will experience a renewed enthusiasm for teaching and an increased appreciation of the excellent work of your colleagues and the potential of your students.

Teaching Squares will provide you opportunities to observe, analyze, and celebrate good teaching, to relive the joy and confusion of being a student, and to formulate plans for enhancing your own teaching based on your observations and reflections and the shared reflections of your Square partners.

This handbook is a resource meant to guide you through the Teaching Squares process. In it you’ll find:

• an overview of the Teaching Squares program
• the “cornerstone” values underlying the program
• suggestions for establishing common expectations among your group
• tips on preparing for a good observation
• ideas for effectively wrapping up your experience

COD’s program is modeled after the original St. Louis Community College Teaching Squares and subsequent programs developed at other institutions, including Stonehill College, Northern Virginia Community College, and Leeward Community College. This handbook has been adapted and borrows from guides created by the teaching and learning centers at these institutions.

COD appreciates your willingness to open your classroom or online course and share your expertise with your colleagues. We know it can sometimes feel risky to invite colleagues into our classes, and we applaud your willingness to take that risk. We are excited about this program and grateful to have an enthusiastic group of colleagues to help get it rolling.

Thank you!

COD Faculty Development Advisory Committee

Jennifer Kelley, chair