INSIDE DOUGLAS CULLEGE / FEBHUARY 27, 1990 Vitality in Motion: Teachers Helping Teachers What are a computer instructor, accounting instruc- tor, and biology teacher doing in the newborn nursery in a local hospital? Why is a history teacher sitting in a health careers class? Actually, they are teaching tech- niques as they watch colleagues interacting with students. Why? They are participating in a unique learning opportunity at McLennan Community College called Vitality in Motion (VIM). What is VIM? VIM is a program whose purpose is, taldhsainly: to increase student learning by increasing faculty teaching skills. It is based on the belief that the best place to learn about teaching and learning is in the classroom itself. Participants in the program attend each other's classes or the classes of other instructors each week. Using these classes as labs, they then meet once a week in a seminar to examine common classroom situations and share possible ideas. Membership in the group is open to full-time and part-time faculty and counselors. Emphasis is placed on having a heterogeneous mixture of participants representing many areas of instruction. What Are the Objectives? —To share teaching approaches —To examine the art (craft) and science of teaching —To help faculty develop long-term multidiscipli- nary interactions between faculty members What Is Required? 1. Attend a weekly, 2- to 2’2-hour seminar. 2. Attend a demonstration class each week. 3. Allow participants to observe your classes, take notes, and offer a critique. 4. Prepare a presentation on some aspect of teaching to give to participants during a weekly seminar. 5. Have a short segment of your classroom teaching videotaped for your own review. 6. Participate in the evaluation of the program. 7. Be committed for one full semester. Each weck, we were required to attend the class of a fellow participant and evaluate the teaching techniques and classroom management strategies. Once a week, we met for two hours in a seminar and evaluated the observations for the previous week. These evaluations led to discussions concerning problems that occur in the classroom. Participants offered suggestions and strategics that had worked for them. Another part of the seminar included a prepared presentation from a member of the group, followed again by group discussion. Topics included course syllabi, computer techniques, stress management, and critical thinking and reading skills. At some point during the semester, we were re- quired to videotape one of our classes. These tapes enabled us to see how and what our students see as we conduct our classes. We were not required to share our tapes with the group: They were for our eyes only! Evaluation Through participation in the VIM program, we learned some new teaching strategies, saw what other disciplines were doing across campus, discussed classroom problems and methods of coping with them, and formed new friendships and reinforced old ones. Recommendations Recommendations for future VIM groups include developing a formal classroom observation instrument which each participant could use to critique each visit and then give to the observed instructor as soon after the visit as possible. Sometimes things said in private and in anonymity can be both complimentary and critical. We also recommend that the seminars be held in a room with a large table, overhead projector, and chalkboard. Refreshments should be available to help promote a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Conclusions The VIM program serves an important function in the quality of instruction on our campus. The business world requires rigorous quality control of its product. This program is one method of quality control. The open critique and the interaction of our members become our best guards against mediocrity. Here at MCC, it’s perfectly natural for a history teacher to be in a health careers class and for a com- puter whiz, an accountant, and a biologist to be ina newbom nursery. We are using the entire campus as a lab to help us to put vitality into our teaching. We are truly a vital campus in motion! Dorothea Lanoux, Facilitator, Vitality in Motion For further information, contact the author at McLen- nan Community College, 1400 College Drive, Waco, TX 76708. Suanne D. Roueche, Editor January 19, 1990, Vol. XIl, No. 1 ©The University of Texas at Austin, 1989 Further duplication is permitted x8 MEMBER institutions for their own personnel 19 INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), EDB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, (512) 471-7545. Subscriptions are available to nonconsor- tium members for $40 per year. Funding in part by. the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation. Issued weekly when classes are in cae during fall and spring terms and once during the summer. ISSN 0199-106X.