#iteachmsu Centering an Educator Learning Community (ELC)

Many scholars recommend preparing faculty for educator roles. Faculty Learning Communities, The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), and teaching centers represent common preparatory approaches. But faculty and teaching assistants report time, disciplinary disconnects, and lack of incentives as ongoing barriers. Inspired by K-12’s professional learning networks and “hashtag activism,” the authors’ university launched #iteachmsu. #iteachmsu combines practices of social networking with a digital and in-person teaching “commons.” Through #iteachmsu, the authors hope to further shift campus cultures in the age of COVID-19, centering teaching and learning as a valuable and ongoing focus for an educator learning community (ELC).

Faculty Learning Communities e Comunità di Pratica per lo sviluppo professionale del docente. L'esperienza dell'Università di Genova

Questo articolo offre l'occasione di riflettere su cosa siano le Faculty Learning Communities (FLC) e le Comunità di Pratica (CdP) all'interno dei contesti universitari, con particolare attenzione ai gruppi di docenti che si incontrano con regolarità per riflettere sulle proprie pratiche di insegnamento.Lo scopo di questo saggio è di definire cosa siano questi due tipi di gruppi di confronto e lavoro, illustrarne le origini e le caratteristiche, descrivere qualche esempio di FLC e CdP, tratteggiare le teorie di riferimento e riportare l'esperienza dell'Università di Genova, che realizza alcune Comunità di Pratica dal 2017, alla presenza dei risultati di un questionario somministrato a cinquanta docenti genovesi. Per concludere, e con riferimento a un articolo recente dedicato alle CdP per lo sviluppo delle competenze didattiche dei docenti di area medica e sanitaria, verranno riportate le dodici raccomandazioni utili per avviare e mantenere sempre attive ed efficaci le CdP nei contesti universitari.

Fostering a Sense of Community Among Black Faculty Through a Faculty Learning Community

The atmosphere at many colleges and universities in the United States presents unique challenges for Black faculty including racism. It is well established that Black faculty, especially those at predominantly White institutions (PWIs), work in potentially hostile, unfriendly, and negative environments. Other concerns for Black faculty at PWIs include lack of mentors and tenure politics. Examples of tenure politics include a lack of guidance regarding the tenure and promotion process, a sense of isolation and lack of collegiality, and the inability to speak out on unfair treatment for fear of retribution during the tenure and promotion process. Black faculty often choose self-isolation, conformity, and silence as coping strategies. However, these strategies rarely address the associated psychological and social stress. Faculty learning communities (FLCs) have been touted as a better alternative. FLCs bind faculty together thereby providing a much-needed support for Black faculty struggling to survive in a predominantly White environment. This article is premised on the experiences of six Black FLC participants at one PWI. We recommend that PWIs should actively support the attempt(s) by Black faculty to create safe spaces such as an FLC, which can foster a sense of belonging and build their confidence. An additional recommendation is that PWIs should employ the services of a chief diversity officer to help create and maintain programs that enhance Black faculty experiences and make them more successful.

Facilitators and Barriers to Engagement and Effective SoTL Research Collaborations in Faculty Learning Communities

To determine factors that influence faculty engagement and success in faculty learning communities focused on collaborative Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), our project gathered information on (1) faculty motivation to engage with SoTL; (2) structures that support collaboration; (3) the perceived impact of SoTL on teaching, scholarship, and faculty engagement in academic communities on campus and beyond; and (4) the role of the teaching center in supporting collaborative faculty learning communities focused on SoTL. In this explanatory, sequential design mixed-methods study, participants were asked to complete a survey on their experience as participants in faculty learning communities at a large comprehensive public university in the southeastern United States; researchers then conducted one-on-one interviews with select participants to gain an in-depth understanding of trends and questions emerging from the survey data. Results indicate that personal, institutional, professional, and team factors contribute to participants’ perception of the success and effectiveness of collaborative research teams. Findings from the study offer guidance for setting up effective collaborative structures for SoTL projects and nurturing inter-disciplinary research among faculty members, thus providing insights that can inform the design and facilitation of similar programs in the United States and internationally.

Teaching4Learning@UNIPD to promote faculty development at the University of Padua, Italy: the experience of the Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine School

Teaching4Learning@UNIPD started in 2016, and it representes the first step for the University of Padua to foster innovative teaching in response to European recommendations. It encourages faculty to experiment with new teaching strategies; involves students and promotes their active participation in educational activities; de-privatizes teaching; and has progressively increased the number of faculty learning communities. It was initiated by faculty who self-selected to participate and who had a significant inclination to enhance their approach to teaching and learning. The School of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine joined the T4L@UNIPD programme organizing a first level course and is currently participating in a second level course. The study of several differents strategies, tools and actions were included in the course and their application in teaching are now in progress.

Earning Professional Legitimacy: Challenges Faced by Women, Underrepresented Minority, and Non-Tenure-Track Faculty

Background and Context Little research has focused on how legitimacy is understood and conveyed through interactions between faculty colleagues, despite its importance to faculty careers. Not all faculty experience an even playing field in trying to access professional legitimacy. This is especially true for women, underrepresented minority (URM), and nontenure-track (NTT) faculty. These groups experience common dilemmas in their pursuit of professional legitimacy in research university environments, though each group also faces distinct challenges of its own. An ideal place to understand experiences of faculty trying to earn professional legitimacy are faculty learning communities. Purpose The purpose of this study was to analyze how women, URM, and NTT faculty understand and describe professional legitimacy in one research university. We sought to understand the challenges these groups experienced in trying to obtain legitimacy from colleagues that they attributed to their gender, race, or appointment type. Through this study, we hope to provide an understanding of and recommendations for creating inclusive academic work environments for all three groups. Setting The study took place at Land Grant University (LGU), a research-intensive institution. LGU received a National Science Foundation ADVANCE grant to focus on issues of equity in the retention and advancement of women and URM faculty. Out of recognition that the institution faced challenges in retaining and/or advancing women, URM, and NTT faculty, LGU's ADVANCE program created faculty learning communities. Research Design A qualitative case study approach was used to understand how women, URM, and NTT faculty interpreted institutional scripts of legitimacy within their academic departments. Data Collection and Analysis Data were collected using semistructured participant observations of five faculty learning communities, which were formed to support the retention and advancement of women, URM, and NTT faculty over five years. Findings/Results Women, URM, and NTT faculty participating in faculty learning communities understood professional legitimacy as associated with belonging, merit, autonomy, and voice in decision making. Participants described multiple ways in which they felt their gender, race, and/or appointment type constrained their ability to achieve legitimacy. Conclusions and Recommendations In this study, we used our findings to “mark” how inequality is maintained through professional interactions with colleagues. Implicit bias influenced several of the inequalities and barriers to earning legitimacy noted in the study. One recommendation, therefore, is to raise awareness of implicit bias and provide department-wide trainings on how to address it. This study also supports the use of faculty learning communities as a place of restoration for faculty seeking professional legitimacy and as a tool to create inclusive academic environments.

A framework for the evaluation of educational development programs in higher education in Chile

This paper outlines the experience of evaluating the impact of educational development in Chilean higher education drawing on the example of the Universidad Católica de Temuco. The aim is to demonstrate the importance of a implementing a robust and flexible evaluation and impact framework to identify the effectiveness of education development programs. The rationale and processes that informed the development of the evaluation and impact framework are described and then illustrated with one example, the Faculty Learning Communities (FLC) program. The example shows how the overall framework is contextualised in a specific program, drawing on indicators and outcomes to demonstrate its flexibility and robustness. The rich evidence gathered has been used to inform the educational developers on the effectiveness of their work, and the faculty participants on their knowledge and practice. Just as importantly, it has informed the institution about the impact of the programs and student engagement. The evaluation framework provides a Chilean example informed by international best practice.