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Sharing Authority: Faculty Collaboration
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Sharing Authority: Faculty Collaboration
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Section 6: Authority and
Trust
Ashley Williams One of the most important lessons I've learned from learning community practice is that as we move from the a teaching paradigm to a learning paradigm we must find ways to integrate the participation of a range of colleagues -- traditional teaching faculty, student services professionals, librarians, etc. -- in collaborative teams. Elizabeth, would you help us think about some of the insights student services colleagues bring to this process. Elizabeth Patten I think it's important for faculty to realize that people in student services positions have expertise in a field, too. Most have at least a master's degree, and often a Ph. D. in fields such as College Student Personnel, Counseling, Education Administration, etc. We're trained to understand/work with the whole student and his or her learning processes both inside and outside the classroom. Sharing the work with a co-teacher creates a different mode of learning, with lots more discussion, which allows faculty to learn more about the whole students. I think wonderful things occur when faculty and student services staff work together to provide an all-encompassing learning experience. Teresa Michals Just as articulating your goals is always part of good teaching but gets more explicit when you share authority in the classroom. What you're saying now is that being aware of the student as a person but separate that from the grade you give is always important. These new teaching situations bring that issue to the surface more. Being able to communicate to students that you think they're smart, they're interesting people, but they're still getting Cs is really hard, but it's always hard. The learning community model doesn't create the tension. It brings the tension to the surface. Ashley Williams I think, too, about the times we have real arguments, with genuine emotion. I watched one of those yesterday, and I was awed by it -- it was a great discussion and an important opportunity for faculty to articulate deeply held beliefs about teaching. Collaboration, and the inevitable differences of opinion it involves, causes us to talk, and to argue, about the things that matter most in teaching and learning. What is very powerful, I think, is the way trust creates the ability to have an honest conversation. Elizabeth Gunn That's interesting. And it's different when you're assigned to teach with someone you may not know at all as opposed to a familiar colleague or a friend. When you don't know the person, there's a lot of prior work to be done to establish trust. That trust builds the excitement about what you're studying as a faculty team which then carries over into the classroom. Kim Eby When you're fired up, it's even possible to get students excited about social science research - laughter - Elizabeth Gunn You're right; it happens and the changes in classroom dynamics are remarkable. Kim Eby It's a relationship that requires all the same kinds of open communication, discussion, honesty, understanding, negotiation as any other close relationship and, as in other relationships, you have to have a true acceptance and appreciation of that other person. In order to make these teaching teams work, we need to create opportunities to appreciate each other, to get to know each other -- it's essentially community-building. Elizabeth Gunn Most academics are here because we’re individual achievers, so moving from an individual to a group is unfamiliar and awkward. Teresa Michals It's going against the grain. Next Section: "Growth and Community" Previous Section: "A Richer Classroom" |