Creating a Time and Space for SoTL: Faculty Learning Communities

Abstract

Time is a precious commodity for faculty members who must balance their teaching, scholarship and service commitments to their institution. Faculty often site that they have little time to focus on developing, analyzing, evaluating and/or disseminating their teaching pedagogy. Faculty Learning Communities (FLC) provide a time and space for cross-disciplinary colleagues (6-12 members) to share their expertise, interests and challenges as it relates to teaching and learning with the goal of improving student learning. Such scholarship can evolve through such a time and place when exploration, reflection, analysis and problem-solving emerge through collaboration and networking. Student Learning Communities and Collaborative Learning Communities (faculty, staff and students) can also enhance the value of teaching and learning across the campus. Participants will share their own rewards and challenges of FLC's, develop a plan to create/revise FLC and experience a "mini-FLC" simulation.