A Teaching Polygon Makes Learning a Community Enterprise

Abstract

In order to strengthen departmental collegiality and improve teaching, our mathematics department instituted a Teaching Polygon. Building on the faculty development idea of Teaching Squares, each member of our department visited one class taught by every other department member in a round-robin fashion during the school year. The visits were followed by structured reflection and conversations about our observations. We found that being in each other’s classrooms strengthened our sense of community as a department, re-energized our enthusiasm for teaching, and encouraged us to reflect on ways to improve our own teaching.

Keywords:

• Peer observation
• collaboration
• Teaching Squares
• faculty development

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mark Colgan

Mark Colgan, Professor of Mathematics at Taylor University, received his Ph.D. from Indiana University. Having served many years as a Department Chair, he is interested in ways to build a collaborative spirit among faculty members in order to improve mathematics teaching and learning. He believes learning mathematics at any level should be active, interesting, and fun. He has also been a leader in Taylor University’s Bedi Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence.

Matt DeLong

Matt DeLong, Professor of Mathematics at Taylor University, earned his Ph.D. from The University of Michigan. He is a Fellow of Taylor’s Bedi Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence and currently serves as an Associate Director of The Mathematical Association of America’s Project NExT. In addition to mathematics and faculty development, he is also involved with Taylor’s Honors Guild and its Foundational Core Curriculum.