Why teach together?
We usually say so much about the value of collaboration. Despite us saying this, our teaching is still far too alone. Covid-19 gave us a kick that reduced our barriers and led to lasting changes in how we taught (eventually leading to this very course).
Open Science / FAIR data is heavily emphazised these days. But let’s add a “C” to FAIR: “collaborative”. Instead of people doing their own thing and releasing, develop, iterate, and maintain collaboratively.
Ways to teach together
Develop materials together - avoid duplication.
Extensive use of helpers and team leaders.
HackMD for parallel and mass answers.
Advantages
You need to teach anyway, less effort if you combine.
If done right, minimal extra effort for others to receive benefit (+ you get publicity).
Many of the previously presented teaching strategies work best in large courses - this makes the course more engaging than a small event with minimal interaction.
More engaging for the audience.
Easier on-boarding of new instructors (less “scary” to teach a new course with other instructors).
Challenges and disadvantages
Coordination
Finding suitable partners with the same vision
Coordination efforts (if others don’t understand the vision).
Materials
May not be perfectly tuned to your own audience
May not iterate as fast as you need
Co-teaching
Difficulty in finding co-teachers
Required effort of syncing among staff
It might revert to independent teaching if you aren’t careful.
HackMD
Can possibly overload both student and teacher.
Exercises
What similarities do we have?
Using HackMD, make two lists:
What courses do you think your local community would benefit from, which you don’t currently have? +1 other people’s items which are also relevant to you.
Which courses are you thinking of preparing for your local community? +1 other people’s items which you would be interested in helping out with.