Center for Teaching and Learning

What?

The Quality Teaching Framework

The QT Framework represents a three-year effort to define teaching excellence across OSU. Forwarded by the Advancement of Teaching, stakeholders across campus consulted the research to create a set of guiding principles accepted by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, Winter, 2021.

Mutual Mentors offers experiential learning opportunities to develop the skills and behaviors needed to conduct both informal (formative) and formal (summative) classroom observations and simultaneously advance Quality Teaching (QT) practices. Mutual Mentors is a research-based program that teaches the use of interpersonal skills, questioning techniques, and structured conversations. This program is intended to be mutually empowering, supportive, formative, and voluntary (not evaluative).

Who?

Mutual Mentors is available to anyone interested in learning how to conduct classroom observations, advance reflective dialogue, and/or obtain feedback on their teaching. This may include faculty, GTAs/GRAs, school heads, and other supervisors. In this case, it is best if you are actively teaching (in any modality) but those who *teach* in other contexts (i.e. consult, mentor, etc.) are also welcome to participate.

How?

Trios of cross-disciplinary participants work together to learn, practice, and apply proven interpersonal skills and classroom observation techniques. Using mixed learning modalities, participants learn content asynchronously via Canvas; independently and collaboratively practice skills online and face-to-face; and apply the concepts during experiential learning opportunities in the field (classrooms). Throughout the program participants earn digital badges as evidence of their learning with an eye towards their own promotion and/or tenure.