Talking about Teaching
Talking about Teaching is a Community of Practice (CoP). A Community of Practice (CoP) is a group of people, sharing a common interest, who come together to share experiences and ideas in an effort to develop personally and professionally. A CoP is designed to be shaped by the members’ needs and goals.
In Spring 2024 we launched our instructional CoP – Talking about Teaching (see session recaps below). This spring we continue the conversation emphasizing important topics based on an analysis of the 2023-2024 SET results. Join your colleagues to discuss classroom challenges, share effective teaching practices, and innovate and create new ideas to support learning at WSB.
Keep reading for more information about this semester’s topics and the special guest instructors who have volunteered to lead the conversation.
How does a CoP operate?
Most importantly, as the name implies, a Community of Practice is created by and for its members. As such, we need YOU to make this CoP a success.
As we start this new program we are providing some structure by pre-selecting this semester’s topics (see calendar below). However, each session will remain open and flexible to the interests of those in attendance. Keeping that in mind, this is how a typical Talking about Teaching session will go:
- Join us in-person or on Zoom (when available) and a T&L team member will kick off the session by introducing the topic and special guest instructor(s).
- Special guest instructor(s) will share their experiences related to that day’s topic. This presentation can be as long or short as they wish; it can be a pure presentation, a panel, or an interactive discussion, we want to leave the presentation style up to you!
- After the special guest instructor(s) presents their perspective, we encourage open discussion, Q&A, demonstrations, etc. Again, as a CoP, these sessions are intended to be driven by you, the community of practitioners rather than being overly structured like a formal workshop or training would be.
Upcoming Meetings
Community of Practice meetings have concluded for the Spring 2025 semester. Stay tuned for the schedule of meetings for Fall 2025!
Past Meeting Recaps
Explore our prior meeting recaps and additional resources below. Explore them all or click on a specific topic for more information about panelists, topics discussed, and slides/handouts (when available). If there is a topic you would like to see discussed, please reach out to Karin Spader (kspader@wisc.edu).
Spring 2024
- February 8 | Generative AI for Creating Case Studies
- February 27 | Discussions
- March 7 | Student Engagement Tips
- March 18 | Feedback Strategies
- April 16 | Group Projects
Fall 2024
- September 17 | Delivering Engaging Lectures
- October 30 | Active Learning Strategies
- November 19 | Feedback Strategies
- December 4 | Course Organization tips
Spring 2025
- February 11 | Feedback Strategies
- March 19 | Authentic Assessment
Additional Resources
Learn more about CoPs by exploring these resources below:
- Read the original description of CoPs | Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511803932 (hard copies available at MERIT & Memorial Libraries, call no. HD58.82 W45)
- Learn more about why CoPs are important from UC-Berkeley
- Learn about the core principles of a CoP from the Center for the Professional Education of Teachers at Columbia University
- Want to dig deeper? Download this guide for cultivating CoPs from Educause.