ERIC Number: EJ1087824
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1470-3297
EISSN: N/A
Supporting Online Faculty through Communities of Practice: Finding the Faculty Voice
Golden, Julie E.
Innovations in Education and Teaching International, v53 n1 p84-93 2016
Faculty development efforts for supporting online instructors represent a growing concern for higher education administrators. Providing online faculty with enriching experiences designed to improve practice, combat isolation, and share knowledge and resources is a challenge. This review examines the use of a community of practice (CoP) approach for online faculty support. The literature was reviewed with a focus on finding the faculty voice by extracting results from research studies on the use of professional development CoPs. Six themes of faculty perception of benefit emerged from the review and are discussed along with the pros and cons of three delivery methods for CoPs. The research supports the idea that collaborative faculty groups provide fertile ground for processing ideas and co-creating new knowledge, where productive conversations between eLearning faculty help improve teaching by identifying strengths, discussing challenges and finding solutions.
Descriptors: Communities of Practice, Online Courses, Faculty Development, Teacher Attitudes, Literature Reviews, Delivery Systems, Educational Practices, Teacher Improvement, Distance Education
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Information Analyses; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A