Faculty Learning Communities
2005 Institute
Photos from the 2005 Institute
Photos from the 2005 Institute
A faculty learning community (FLC) is a cross-disciplinary group of faculty and professional staff of size 6-15 (8 to 12 is the recommended size) engaging in an active, collaborative, yearlong program with a curriculum about enhancing teaching and learning and with frequent seminars and activities that provide learning, development, interdisciplinarity, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and community building. A participant in a faculty learning community may select a focus course or project to try out innovations, assess resulting student learning, and prepare a course or project mini-portfolio; engage in biweekly seminars and some retreats; work with student associates; and present project results to the campus and at national conferences. Evidence shows that FLCs increase faculty interest in teaching and learning and provide safety and support for faculty to investigate, attempt, assess, and adopt new (to them) methods.
FLCs have been implemented successfully at over 100 institutions - a full listing (in Microsoft Excel format) is available.
The single most important element in their success has been the preparation of developers and facilitators. The FLC New Developers' and Facilitators' Institute has been a primary source of preparation and support for FLC development. Although not required, we recommend you register in teams of 3 for maximum impact. There are a limited number of places available and individuals/teams will be accepted on a first-come, first-registered basis.
Information on the the 2005 New Developers' and Facilitators' Institute is available from the International Alliance of Teacher Scholars website.
More information on creating and facilitating FLCs is available in Cox, M.D. & Richlin, L. (2004). Building Faculty Learning Communities. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, No. 97. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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.