The Institute for STEM Education and the Teaching Mentoring Program Committee are proud to announce the start of the Classroom Pairs teaching mentoring program. The Classroom Pairs program provides the opportunity for personalized one-on-one feedback on teaching. Faculty members who would like help with some aspect of their teaching are paired with someone who acts as a teaching coach-colleague; someone who is experienced with the teaching tactic or classroom challenge, and can meet and provide informed guidance. This service is available to any faculty member, and is not restricted to STEM fields or instructional modality. The Classroom Pairs program is designed to be individualized and support faculty in all stages of their career. Participation in the program is confidential, but on the participant’s request, we will document participation for the participant’s department chair, program director, or file; this may be helpful in demonstrating effort to improve teaching effectiveness and demonstrating continued growth when applying for tenure and promotion. Read below for more information. Contact us at teaching@clarkson.edu .
If you are interested in being a teaching mentor, let us know (teaching@clarkson.edu), and please specify in what areas (disciplines, pedagogy, techniques, experience levels) you feel strongest in serving as a mentor.
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Classroom Pairs
The Institute for STEM Education offers Clarkson faculty members the opportunity for personalized one-on-one feedback on their teaching. Depending on the needs of the faculty member, this may include review of syllabi, curriculum, or specific lessons; advice on classroom management; tips on working with ‘difficult’ students; guidance on effective classroom or out-of-classroom activities; integrating technology to encourage student engagement; or discussions on alternative pedagogical approaches. A faculty member may want guidance on use of active student learning tactics such as think-pair-share, case studies, peer review, or problem-based learning. They are paired with someone who acts as a teaching coach-colleague; someone who is experienced with the teaching tactic or classroom challenge and can meet and provide informed guidance. Course instructors request a teaching pair coach, and based on the area of development the faculty member has requested, they will be matched with a STEM Education Institute colleague or another appropriate colleague. This service is available to any faculty member and is not restricted to STEM fields or instructional modality. The Classroom Pairs program is designed to be individualized and support faculty in all stages of their career. Participation in the program is confidential, but on the participant’s request, we will document participation for the participant’s department chair or file; this may be helpful in demonstrating effort to improve teaching effectiveness and demonstrating continued growth when applying for tenure and promotion.
How does it work?
1) You contact the Teaching Mentoring Program Committee (currently Tom Langen. Kathleen Kavanagh, Laura Perry, Christopher Robinson, Kathleen Issen, Joseph Skufca, Brian Helenbrook, Dhara Trivedi) to request more information or a teaching pair coach. Contact email teaching@clarkson.edu
2) We contact you and have a conversation about what you are interested in working on in your teaching practice.
3) We find a willing classroom pair coach, and set up an initial meeting of the pair.
4) If it looks like a good fit, off you go.
5) If it doesn’t look like a good fit, as sometimes happens, we find another who may be a better fit.
To illustrate the role of the classroom coach, a few possible scenarios are provided below.
Scenario 1: Early Career Faculty / Faculty teaching a course for the first time
An early career faculty member might request assistance with syllabus development, pacing and breadth of a course, and general logistical assistance. This person might meet with the classroom pair coach after submitting syllabi drafts for review, then schedule a couple of meetings during the semester to review materials and discuss improvements.
Scenario 2: Mid-career Faculty / Faculty who have taught a course for 2-4 years
A mid-career faculty member might wish to learn new classroom strategies to, for example, increase student success on assessments. In this case, the mid-career faculty member might share the course assessments with the classroom coach. The classroom pair coach can then suggest different options for assessments, review alignment of assessments with course objectives, and work with the faculty member to improve student outcomes.
Scenario 3: Established Faculty / Faculty who have taught a course for 5 years or more
An established member of the faculty might reach out to learn new pedagogical practices for their course. This might include project-based learning strategies, inquiry models, discussion models, or effective case-history approaches. The classroom pair coach, in this case, might observe a class, review course objectives, and work with the faculty member to develop new curricular materials and activities to improve student engagement and learning outcomes.