Teaching cooperatives ("co-ops")
- Teaching cooperatives ("co-ops") are open to all faculty (part- and full-time lecturers and tenure line), student affairs professionals, and staff.
- Co-ops typically meet for 1 - 2 hours, 4 - 6 times over the semester (usually every 2 or 3 weeks).
- Meeting times will be determined by looking for a time that accommodates the greatest number of people who sign up by the priority deadline based on their google calendars (please make sure your calendar is up to date).
- It is okay to sign up for more than one co-op as they may not all run or be scheduled at a time you can make.
- Those who do not sign up by the priority deadline can still join co-ops after the meeting times are set. Your schedule just won't be taken into consideration when scheduling meeting times.
TLA supports two types of co-ops
- Communities of Practice (CoPs): Facilitated by CSUMB educators with expertise in the cooperative topic, CoP participants are expected to implement (i.e. practice) new strategies for facilitating student learning in their current classes and then discuss their successes and challenges with the co-op members. CoP topics and facilitators require TLA approval (contact TLA interim director, Vivian Waldrup-Patterson at vwaldrup-patterson@csumb.edu).
- Discussion Groups: Facilitated by CSUMB educators with expertise or a strong interest in the topic, discussion groups may systematically explore a particular topic or teaching approach or they may be more loosely organized (e.g. specific topics might be determined by participants from meeting to meeting). Discussion groups differ from communities of practice in that participants are not repeatedly practicing new pedagogical approaches with students in the current semester and reporting back to the group. Discussion group topics can be proposed by any CSUMB educator without TLA approval. To propose a topic for a co-op YOU want to facilitate, read the facilitator guidelines, select the green button below, and follow the directions.
Guidelines for co-op facilitators
For more professional development opportunities, go to the Center for Academic Technologies (CAT)
Questions?
Contact tla@csumb.edu or call Luz Espanola at 582-3090.