Overcoming Pedagogical Solitude: Fostering Collaboration and Innovation for Effective Teaching Through Teaching Triangles

The term “pedagogical solitude”—first coined by Lee Shulman in 1993—aptly captures the experience of many academics. Behind closed doors, instructors work in isolation, disconnected from their peers. While faculty are active participants in scholarly communities and engaged in collegial exchange about research findings, methods, goals and challenges, conversations about teaching rarely occur. This lack of dialogue not only negatively impacts teaching quality; it can lead to feelings of isolation and burnout.

Dorothe Bach, CTE associate director and professor, interviewed Matthew Lazzara, professor of chemical engineering and biomedical engineering, who set out to disrupt this pedagogical solitude by introducing “Teaching Triangles” into the chemical engineering department’s mentoring program.

Lazzara initially had the idea after observing several of his mentees’ courses, "I have four [faculty mentees] … I went and observed a couple of their classes, and it struck me that nobody ever came and watched one of my classes, and we don't do that as part of our mentoring of each other as faculty. We don't usually observe each other's classes, but I think you can learn a lot if you do."

What is a Teaching Triangle?

Teaching triangles (or teaching squares) are a professional development tool for academics of all career stages. It’s essential that they are formative in nature to allow for mutual learning and community building. Instructors—usually three or four—observe each other’s classes, pick up new ideas, and reflect on what might work in one’s own classes. Here’s how it works:

1. Group Formation: Triangles or squares are ideal because the group size strikes a balance between ease of coordination and meaningful feedback. Creating a sign-up process based on availability makes scheduling manageable.
2. Classroom Observations: Each instructor observes the other members’ classes, taking notes on different teaching methods and moves.
3. Reflection: After observing, the group meets to reflect on questions like: What practices could you bring into your own classroom? Could one of your methods be useful in a colleague’s course? How might changes to your teaching impact student engagement and learning?
4. Further Cross-pollination: A gathering at the end of the semester for all participants allows for further cross-pollination between triangles.

Teaching Triangles As A Tool to Combat Pedagogical Solitude

Lazzara believes that teaching triangles offer a powerful solution to the problem of pedagogical solitude. By observing each other’s classes in a low-stakes setting, faculty can focus on their own and their colleagues' growth as teachers and build supportive relationships.

In addition, the model is unique because it provides an equal playing field for instructors at all experience levels. Tenured professors have the chance to learn from newer faculty members or graduate students who may offer fresh perspectives and innovative techniques. Conversely, newer instructors gain valuable insights and time-tested methods from more experienced colleagues—within a judgment-free space. Conversations about curricular alignment can further be a beneficial side effect. Overall, the collegial exchange that teaching triangles engender is bound to bring fresh perspectives to classrooms and curricula and enrich students’ educational experiences.

Participants in the chemical engineering department’s teaching triangles program confirm these benefits in a recently published story, Professors, To Improve Your Teaching Game, Consider These Tested Formulas, where they share practical teaching strategies they learned from their colleagues.

After the overwhelmingly positive response to the pilot last fall, Lazzara wants to help other departments and schools adopt the model: "It's a beautiful concept, because it sits at the sweet spot of low effort and high payoff. If there's an opportunity to spread the model within the university, I think that would be really gratifying."  

Setting up Teaching Triangles in Your Own Department or School

In a 60-minute session on Wednesday, March 5, Lazzara will share the nuts and bolts of creating teaching triangles and answer any questions you may have about setting up a similar program in your school or department. He will be joined by his colleagues Kyle Lampe and Chris Paolucci who were participants in the program.