Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education
Date of this Version
2007
Document Type
Article
Citation
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development (2007) 25
doi: 10.3998/tia.17063888.0025.024
Abstract
This chapter describes a yearlong seminar focused on teaching that is offered to all incoming tenure-track faculty at Connecticut College, a small residential liberal arts college. This seminar is distinctive because it is facilitated by second- and third-year faculty. We argue that this peer-mentoring model has three distinct benefits. First, it avoids many of the pitfalls identified with traditional one-on-one mentoring. Second, it addresses the distinctive challenges that faculty face at small colleges. Third, it provides a strong base for faculty to pursue the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). We believe that our peer-mentoring model may well be adaptable to different types of institutions. As evidence of our faculty’s newfound engagement in SoTL, where previously little or no critical attention was paid to teaching, program participants have made presentations and run workshops on our own campus and at regional and national conferences, have begun to serve on teaching committees within their disciplinary organizations, and have gone on to publish their pedagogical work in a variety of national publications, both disciplinary and teaching focused.
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Comments
License: CC BY-NC-ND