Creating a forum for researching teaching and its quality more synergistically

Several frameworks and models have been developed to conceptualize teaching quality. Despite their merits, the field seems to be lacking a common language and structure in how teaching quality is delineated. This special issue argues that progress can be made in this respect by fostering focused discussions and collaborations among scholars working on teaching quality. In this introductory paper, we first consider some initial steps made examine teaching quality more collectively, discuss the importance of intensifying this effort, identify related challenges, and consider ideas for addressing them. Then, we outline a format for collaboration which brings developers together to discuss and reflect upon their work and present a model which can provide a platform such focused discussions. The approach undertaken in this special issue to facilitate collaborative discussions among three groups of scholars is presented, alongside the guiding questions and the empirical data considered in the following papers.