May 20-23, 2024

Y.O. Ranch Hotel

2033 Sidney Baker St

Kerrville, TX 78028

(877) 967-3767

Some days it seems that much of what faculty are asked to spend their time on takes them further and further from the immediate experience of teaching students. The Great Teaching Round Up is all about the lived reality of working with students and growing in our profession.

Process

Assemble a group of people who really care about teaching and place them in an isolated, unstructured setting in the Texas hill country. The rewards can be astounding: Over the years, many teachers have reported that the Round-Up allowed them to believe in their chosen profession as never before.

The Great Teaching Round Up is based on the National Great Teaching Movement, originally founded by David Gottshall. The Great Teaching Movement is called a movement because it is

not associated with any organization of any kind, it serves no commercial interest. There are no

owners, employees, or politics. There are no manuals or handbooks, only a few simple

guidelines (S. Smith, 2024).

The primary objective of the seminar is not to gather already great teachers, but to create a

space where all educators can explore and discover the great teacher within themselves

(Hendrickson, 2023) . Teachers from all disciplines gather to share experiences and learn from

each other. Most community college teachers enter the field with extensive experience in their

discipline but little experience in pedagogy or teaching. The sharing of great teaching ideas

grows the participant's interpersonal and social-emotional skills as they work together in small

groups to tackle big problems and learn from each other's experiences. It’s not only the

technical aspects of teaching but also the emotions and personal experiences that shape

teachers’ professional identity (Kahveci, 2021)

.

In a college classroom that is constantly changing, from new technology to addressing student’s

mental health, the sharing of ideas across disciplines allows for diverse perspectives and

professional collaboration. In a higher education setting, teachers spend more time with their

students than they do with each other, but the Great Teaching Round Up allows for a community

of practice, with shared goals, and the desire to support and grow. As a new teacher, the

learning that happens in graduate school in preparation for teaching is just the beginning of

learning ahead. Learning to teach is a matter of learning from experience (Hutchings, 1994).

The Great Teaching Round-Up is a gathering of experience, and a desire to learn and grow.

The goals of each Great Teaching Round-Up include:

1. Celebrate good teaching

2. Challenge educators to explore transferable ideas

3. Promote introspection and self-appraisal

4. Practice rational analysis of instructional problems

5. Stimulate information and idea exchange (Hendrickson, 2023)

No seminar is the same, but all share a similar structure. There is no pre-printed agenda or

schedule, and the group activities vary between large-group sharing and small-group working.

Seminar facilitators are previous GTR participants, and seminar activities depend on the

interests of the groups (C. Smith, 1997). There are no two GTR seminars that are the same,

each is shaped by the unique experiences and struggles of the participants.

No matter how long you have been in teaching, the Great Teaching Round Up has something to

offer, whether it’s to provide guidance and new teaching ideas, to invigorate the thrill of

teaching.

References:

Hendrickson, P. (2023). The national great teachers seminar - A strategic investment that

benefits both faculty and students.

Hutchings, P. (1994). Breaking the solitude of teaching. Metropolitan Universities: An

International Forum, 5(1), 19–25.

Kahveci, P. (2021). Teachers’ narratives as a lense to reveal their professional identity.

International Journal of Education, 10(1), 10–25. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.34293/

education.v10i1.4273

Smith, C. (1997). The great teachers format: Why does it work?

Smith, S. (2024). About the NGTM. National Great Teaching Movement. ngtm.net/about-the-

ngtm/