A Case Study in Defining Community Values at an Integrated Center for Teaching and Learning

Abstract

As post-COVID work environments continue to shift, our organization sought to develop a statement of community values to promote a respectful, dynamic workplace culture. The purpose of this paper is to share both the iterative process we used to formulate a unique statement of values that encourages ongoing reflection by each colleague, and demonstrate the ways we have kept that statement alive through community activities. Over a nearly three-year period, a volunteer committee at the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning developed a community values document. We collected input from over 50 staff members via virtual and in-person all-staff meetings and surveys, all-staff zoom chats, and zoom polls and analyzed qualitative feedback to seek themes to create our document. Adopting a culturally responsive evaluation design that utilizes multiple modes of gathering feedback, the committee shared its work with the entire staff on multiple occasions. Two spring activities, a year apart, were designed to enhance engagement with the values and keep the community values document living. This case study considers the underlying values that drive staff’s experience of working on interdisciplinary teams in the field of educational development and advances the field by considering how we do the work, bringing our humanity and the relationships we build into daily conversation. It can serve as a model for centers for teaching and learning of any size looking to develop a statement of values that both reflect and shape the center’s work.