What Are Teaching Squares?

What Are Teaching Squares?
By Ki Wight in exploratory collaboration with Claude.ai

Teaching Squares are collaborative classroom observation groups where four instructors visit each other's classes over a short period (usually one term). This supportive, confidential, and non-judgmental process promotes teaching development through structured peer observation and self-reflection. Faculty who participate typically enjoy the depth of reflective insights from the process, as well as an enhancement of student learning.

Teaching squares offer numerous advantages for professional development:

• Enhanced Teaching Practice: Participants learn new approaches by observing diverse teaching methods and techniques
• Cross-Disciplinary Learning: Faculty from different fields share innovative strategies that may not be common in their own practices
• Collegial Community: Builds community around sharing and encourages ongoing pedagogical dialogue
• Reduces Isolation: Breaks down the traditional solitude of teaching through collaborative engagement

The Teaching Squares process involves three steps:

1. An initial meeting with all four faculty to establish goals, expectations, classroom visit schedule, and to exchange course materials like outlines or instructional materials
2. Faculty attend each other’s classes individually or as a group, with everyone making some reflective notes during and after the class visit
3. All participants attend a wrap-up meeting to share experiences and insights with an emphasis on the participants’ learning rather than offering feedback to instructors, and strategies for implementing new approaches or insights in teaching

Unlike formal peer review, teaching squares emphasize observation and self-reflection over evaluation and feedback. The goal is personal professional growth through witnessing colleagues' teaching practices in action.

Are you interested in joining our Teaching Squares pilot? We are seeking 3-4 faculty to participate, with an expected time commitment of about 10 hours during the fall term. If so, please email faculty educational developer Ki Wight at kiwight@ecuad.ca.

The Teaching Squares methodology was developed by Anne Wessely at St. Louis Community College. This blog post was written in exploratory collaboration with Claude.Ai, and using the online resources for Formative Peer Review of Teaching on the website for UBC’s Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology. If you're interested in engaging with AI, please consider joining the TLC’s AI Faculty Learning Community this year ahead!