Chapter 6: The Value of Culturally Informed and Strengths-Based Faculty Peer Coaching

In this chapter, the authors share a unique peer coaching model that aims to integrate a culturally informed strengths-based peer coaching approach to enhance teaching experience and effectiveness, enhance research and grant activity, and foster a stronger professional networking community for early career STEM tenure-track/nontenure-track faculty from historically underrepresented minorities, specifically African American, Hispanic and Latine, Native American/Alaskan Native faculty, and faculty in Asian groups that are underrepresented in STEM fields. We applied a multifaceted approach to provide new STEM faculty participants with opportunities to critically examine the intersections of their strengths with their social and cultural identities to support participants in maximizing their effectiveness and engagement through a combination of workshops and networking experiences, coaching from senior faculty in STEM, and peer-to-peer coaching among early career faculty. Based on findings from qualitative interviews with participants of the study, participants reported not only receiving support from senior faculty but also feeling heard, understood, and supported by their peers, whilst building a network. Participants also highlighted the benefits of reflecting on their strengths in their teaching, research, and service. This approach to peer coaching has been valuable in outlining recommendations for practice for current and future educators.