Open Access19: Making Meaning of a Life in Teaching: A Memoir‐Writing Project for Seasoned Faculty
Author(s) -
O'Donovan Kathleen F.,
Simmons Steve R.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
to improve the academy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2334-4822
DOI - 10.1002/j.2334-4822.2007.tb00489.x
Subject(s) - memoir , facilitator , collegiality , meaning (existential) , reflection (computer programming) , process (computing) , product (mathematics) , pedagogy , sociology , psychology , computer science , art , literature , social psychology , psychotherapist , programming language , geometry , mathematics , operating system
The University of Minnesota's faculty development project, “Making Meaning of a Life in Teaching,” promotes collegiality and enhances self‐reflection for those who are experienced classroom instructors. Started in October 2003, this project provides a forum that invites participants to examine specific memories from their teaching lives and to transform those recollections into a written memoir. This chapter explores the use of memoir as an effective tool for faculty development, describes the project's structure and components, and presents both co‐facilitator and participant perspectives on the process and the memoir product.