Instructional Exchanges Program Overview

The Instructional Exchanges (IEs) Program provides full-time and adjunct faculty the opportunity to collaborate on the improvement of their teaching methods through joint class observations, the sharing and revising of assignments, and focused research on pedagogical topics.  Participation in an Instructional Exchange is a semester-long commitment agreed upon by two faculty members, who are not otherwise paired for a formal evaluation.  Participants who successfully complete the IE will earn up to 10 hours of Standard 1 credit.  A person is allowed to participate in only one IE per semester, and two IEs (Fall and Spring) per academic year.  An Instructional Exchange must contain different participants each time.  Any participant’s own paid instructional time will not contribute to the 10 credit hours.

Program Outcomes (Supported by AVC Institutional Learning Outcomes)

1. Encourage college-wide, interdisciplinary, and departmental community through the veneration of teaching, learning, research, and scholarship
2. Investigate and incorporate ways that diversity and innovation can enhance teaching, learning, and assessment methods
3. Expand creative, critical, and communication skills, resulting in greater instructional self-reflection and awareness of student learning
4. Increase instructional responsibility in and connection to institution-wide perspectives, pathways, and narratives, as they impact teaching, learning, and student success

Program Requirements

In this program, two faculty members agree to observe each other teach at least twice in the semester.  The faculty members will communicate regularly and meet frequently to discuss classroom strategies and assignments.  The exact focus of their collaboration can develop over the course of the IE and later be identified in each participant’s reflective report.  Examples of instructional exchanges include those focused on active learning strategies, service learning, assessment techniques, teaching within the framework of Guided Pathways, using technology in the classroom, rethinking approaches to reading and writing, applying rubrics, reducing student attrition, reimagining one’s teaching persona, and fostering empathy in the classroom.  The faculty members will also conduct research on their agreed-upon focus.  At least two researched sources will be critically referenced in the IE Reflective Report submitted individually by the faculty members.  By participating in this program, AVC faculty members support the Chancellor’s Office guidelines for faculty professional development, specifically “Activities related to the improvement of teaching,” as well as the Four Pillars of Guided Pathways: “Ensure incorporation of effective teaching practice throughout the pathways” (4.3).

In order to learn more about the program, contact the FPDC Chair or the IE Liaison, Mark Hoffer (mhoffer@avc.edu).