Enhancing Teaching and Learning Through Collaborative Structures : New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Number 148

In this volume, the authors contend that teaching and learning must be viewed as communal work, whether conducted in one classroom, with colleagues at a programmatic level, or when tackled on a university-wide scale. When educators partner with faculty colleagues or students in teaching and learning, it becomes possible to

• improve the educational experiences of all students,
• model professional behaviors that students will soon be expected to embrace, and
• positively impact graduates, peers, campuses, and even communities at large.

By intentionally creating collaborative structures for communal work to occur, educators can broaden access to opportunities for students, improve engagement experiences within the community, and improve faculty support and scholarship.

Exploring multiple perspectives on collaborative structures in teaching and learning, this volume discusses ways to consider the collaborative structures within education that allow for shared contributions to teaching and learning. It discusses the need for practitioners to view teaching and learning as truly communal work, regardless of the type of setting.

This is the 148th volume of this Jossey-Bass higher education series. It offers a comprehensive range of ideas and techniques for improving college teaching based on the experience of seasoned instructors and the latest findings of educational and psychological researchers.

Jeffrey L. Bernstein is Professor of Political Science at Eastern Michigan University. He is a 2005-2006 Carnegie Scholar, and has published numerous articles and book chapters on the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Brooke A. Flinders is Associate Professor of Nursing at Miami University. She incorporates service-learning and the scholarship of teaching and learning in her community-based work with young women, in the field of teen pregnancy prevention.