We learn better together

I just attended a celebration to commemorate a year's worth of success in our campus mentoring program. Individuals who are dedicated to improving teaching have worked diligently to assist both experienced and inexperienced instructors in refining their craft and supporting students. These are skills that can't be learned from a book, and working in the isolation of the classroom with only periodic student evaluations can't possibly provide the feedback to drive improvement. It must by dialogic, it must be reflective, and it must be directed at figuring out what makes the greatest difference for student achievement.