Reflections on Pedagogical Practice and Development through Multidisciplinary Triadic Peer Mentorship

Authors

Nicole Charles, University of Toronto
Nathalie Moon, University of Toronto
Andrew P. Dicks, University of TorontoFollow

ORCID IDs

Moon 0000-0001-7789-205X

Dicks 0000-0001-5456-0212

Date of this Version

Fall 2022

Document Type

Article

Citation

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development (2022) 41(2)

doi: 10.3998/tia.275

Comments

License: CC BY-NC-ND

Abstract

This article presents a critical reflection on the experiences of three university instructors (two teaching stream and one tenure stream) within a 6-month peer-to-peer mentoring for teaching community of practice (P2P CoP). As part of the P2P CoP, the authors (who were previously unknown to one another) formed a “teaching triad” at a tri-campus, research-intensive Canadian university. They regularly met in person for 1 hour on a weekly basis throughout the Winter 2019 semester to discuss teaching-related matters, undertook classroom visits to observe one another teach, and participated in pedagogical workshops with other P2P CoP members. In this article, the authors specifically reflect on (a) the opportunities presented for reciprocity within their triadic mentorship structure; (b) the value their different scholarly fields offered them in pursuit of professional development and open exchange; and (c) the broadened knowledge base of pedagogical techniques their multidisciplinarity afforded them throughout the P2P CoP. They interpret their experiences of building relationships to offer insights into the unique and transformative advantages of teaching triad mentorship models. These include faculty peer mentoring and professional development opportunities that are not merely formalized but institutionally supported and related benefits for other institutions of higher education.