New FLC Developers' Institute, June 21-23, 2006
Designing, Implementing, and Leading Faculty Learning Communities
Learning Objectives for the Institute
After completing the New Developers' Institute, participants will be able
to:
In order to initiate your faculty learning community (FLC) program
- Describe for your campus* the definition, models,
benefits and outcomes of faculty learning communities.
- Describe the differences between cohort-based and topic-based faculty learning communities and describe examples of both types.
- Describe to your campus the academic and personal challenges of new
and junior faculty and effective ways to address those using a faculty
learning community.
- Describe to your campus the academic and personal challenges of minorities
and majorities and effective ways to address these using faculty learning
communities.
- Determine and describe the aspects, activities, components, and outcomes of Miami’s faculty learning communities that you will recommend to adapt for your program.
- Identify the people you will meet with and involve in designing and
implementing a faculty learning communities program on your campus.
- Determine and describe your role(s) in the process of designing and
implementing a faculty learning communities program on your campus (FLC
program director, facilitator of an FLC, cheerleader, consultant, fund
raiser, etc.).
- Identify and describe the key roles for those involved in your FLC
program: person to whom you report, director, FLC facilitators, faculty
participants, faculty partners, student associates, advisory committee.
- Determine what partnerships with other units might be feasible in
order to initiate an FLC program and particular FLCs.
- Determine, describe, and be prepared to advocate for your goals and
learning objectives for your faculty learning program and particular
FLCs.
- Describe and advocate for the format, procedures, activities, and
timeline you would like to put in place for the various components of
your institution’s faculty learning communities program.
- Determine public relations approaches to advertise the FLC program
and faculty learning communities.
- Identify and describe the connections that a faculty learning community
can make to student learning.
- Determine and describe what artifacts you will have each faculty learning
community member prepare in order to demonstrate his or her students’
learning in his or her focus course: course mini-portfolio, pre- and
post-measures, classroom assessment techniques (CATs) (Angelo and Cross),
other.
- Describe to your campus these 3 concepts: “the scholarship of
teaching”, “scholarly teaching”, and “excellent
teaching,” and how you will engage a faculty learning community
in these three activities.
- Determine and describe what artifacts you will have your faculty learning
community members prepare in order to demonstrate their involvement,
learning, and development in their faculty learning community: for example,
questionnaires, teaching project report, syllabus, focus-course portfolio,
videotape of teaching.
- Determine and describe ways your faculty learning community members
will share their individual and joint teaching project results and learning
with your campus (campus-wide presentation; construction of a Web site;
meeting with the provost; etc.)
- Describe a preliminary budget for your faculty learning community
to your advisory group and to those who may provide funding.
- Describe to your campus your proposed timeline for development of
your faculty learning communities program and its FLCs.
- Describe to your campus your proposed criteria for selecting members
of a faculty learning community.
- Describe to your campus your proposed application process (application
form, composition of selection committee, etc.)
- Describe to your campus how you will identify and select facilitators
for your FLCs.
Once You Have Identified a Particular FLC
- Determine ways and activities to foster community in the FLC
- Describe to the new FLC members several possible seminar topics, readings, and presenters.
Facilitate the seminar selection process for the new FLC.
Describe to your campus the academic and personal challenges of teaching using a service-learnling/civic engagement pedagogy and effective ways to address these using faculty learning communities.
- Describe the role of faculty partnerships and use of small groups
in your faculty learning community.
- Describe the role of student associates and their selection.
- Nurture and evaluate proposed teaching projects.
- Describe and foster development of the use of classroom assessment
techniques (CATS) and small group instructional diagnosis (SGID).
- Describe and foster development of course mini-portfolios.
- Foster scholarly teaching and the scholarship of teaching.
- Identify and select a facilitator for an FLC
- Work with an FLC facilitator to develop effective facilitation
*Note: The phrase, "describe for your
campus," includes "describe for your role players (provost, funders,
advisory committee), your faculty learning community members, and, where appropriate,
your entire campus."
This project has been supported in part by a grants from the US
Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education
(FIPSE) and the Ohio
Board of Regents.
