Faculty Learning Communities
A Faculty Learning Community (FLC) is a group of faculty that work together for a year who are committed to learning from each other across disciplines to improve their teaching practice. FLC members select a focus and agree to produce some “deliverable” product by the end of the project.
ACC’s Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning (FCTL) is pleased to support opportunities for ACC faculty to engage in instructor-centered and initiated groups of like-minded peers to explore shared topics of interest.
Curious about what it’s like to participate in a faculty learning community? Please read “My Experience in a Faculty Learning Community” by Rebel Sanders, Associate Professor of Biology to find out!
Overview
An FLC is more formal and longer in duration than a Faculty Interest Group (FIG). It consists of an group of an interdisciplinary cohort of faculty who work together to research, discuss and implement a new teaching strategy to create a well-defined project.
- The group agrees to meet regularly to share ideas
- A facilitator starts the process of creating an FLC through an application. As the applicant, you agree to:
- direct the FLC
- organize meetings
- coordinate research
- facilitate discussion
- manage any budget provided
- ensure the completion of the project
- Funding may be available
- Facilitators and participants are eligible to earn professional development credit
- Group size is limited to no more than 12 faculty members
Duration: One year (w/ optional one year renewal)
Expected Outcomes:
- Logs of meetings, topics, and attendees.
- Written progress reports on status of research, results, and deliverables
- At least one FCTL Faculty Forum blog post
- Results and the research undertaken are shared with colleagues through a workshop or session at ACC hosted by the FCTL
Desired Outcomes:
- A contribution to research on the topic resulting in a practical deliverable able to be used in teaching
- A publication of results at ACC or for a wider audience
Topic Ideas
- Course Development and Design: new course development, course redesign, syllabus development
- Instructional Design: teaching online, hybrid, flipped courses
- Educational Technology: in classroom, gaming/simulation, social media
- Pedagogy: collaborative learning/group work, active learning, critical thinking, writing to learn, writing across the curriculum, writing in the disciplines
- Research: effective library use, research assignments, plagiarism
- Student Affairs: attendance, retention, classroom safety, mentoring, tutoring, special needs
Resources
- An excellent article for novices of the subject is “Introduction to Faculty Learning Communities” by Dr. Milton Cox*.
- This handout from a 2016 Lilly Conference presentation on FLCs by Dr. Cox provides an overview of definitions and includes recommendations for creating effective FLCs.
- Miami University: Center for Teaching Excellence Faculty Learning Communities page
*Dr. Milton Cox is a leader in the development of faculty learning communities.