Academics leave your ivory tower: form communities of practice

Institutions of higher education (HE), public and private, are moving through a crisis period of tapped‐out states, funding cuts, tuition increases and layoffs. It makes good sense to rise to meet these new realities with new ways of doing things, and the places that succeed will be the ones that do. A holistic approach is necessary whereby excellence in teaching and learning as well as research should be the ultimate aim. Among the various ways to achieve this, is the promotion of communities of practices (CoPs) among the academics. Therefore, CoPs are to be seen as an “extension” of any programme to achieve excellence, because as it has been shown it is the sharing of the tacit knowledge that makes the difference in any organisation in its pursuit for a competitive advantage. An HE institution should be considered to be at a greater advantage than any other non‐academic organisation since each staff member is a knowledge worker whose mission is to transmit, create and incorporate new knowledge to the existing knowledge. This paper looks at the possible reasons preventing academics from participating in a CoP. It will be shown that CoPs can play a very important role in a university set‐up.     

Academics’ virtual identities

The focus of this article is on the experiences of staff members involved in a student support programme. The experiential, social, and student-centred approaches incorporated in this programme provided not only students, but also academics with pathways to lifelong learning. Functioning in a community of practice (CoP) (with students and also with like-minded colleagues) created an enabling environment for the development of effective teaching and learning approaches, as well as practical skills. Additional positive results relate to the fact that academics are aware of the importance of and more equipped with the competence to scaffold students towards becoming more effective in the learning process.     

Good CoPs and bad CoPs: facilitating reform in first-year assessment via a Community of Practice

The idea and implementation of learning communities are gaining favour in higher education institutions. In particular, there are a number of successful examples to emerge of the application of the Community of Practice (CoP) framework proposed by Wenger [(1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press] for fostering a learning environment for academics around their teaching practice. In this paper, we describe and reflect on the efficacy of a CoP process that was implemented within our university. The purpose of this CoP was to provide a space for academics to focus on assessment practices for first-year courses and identify opportunities for professional development in this area. For a variety of reasons detailed in the paper, the efficacy of this CoP was limited, and we conclude that in the current higher education environment in Australia, success with CoP approaches to improve learning and teaching outcomes may prove limited.     

Creating and maintaining online communities of practice in Malaysian Smart Schools: challenging realities

Wenger describes an educational community of practice (CoP) as a group of professionals who share a passionate concern for practice‐based issues and who voluntarily choose to deepen their knowledge, understanding and skills through collaborative and critical dialogue. Peer collaboration of this kind, which involves social interaction, reflection and a critical engagement with practice issues, has been widely suggested to be effective for teacher learning and professional development. The online continuing professional development for teachers (e‐CPDelT) Vision 2020 model outlined here aims to bring about innovation in practice through an online or virtual CoP (VCoP). Twenty Malaysian teachers in five Smart Schools were invited to take part in a Higher Education (HE) project, funded by one of the main universities in Malaysia. By participating collaboratively in this CoP, it was anticipated that the teachers would form an active online CoP that would lead in turn to innovation in teaching and learning practices in the schools. An action research approach was used in tracing the developmental process of the three subject‐based CoPs (namely, Mathematics, Science and English) and identifying challenges faced by the higher education institution (HEI) project team in fostering the active participation and commitment of the teachers. Preliminary data generated from mentor forum discussion, focus groups and blogs suggested that low levels of participation in VCoP activities were a result of low levels of trust and social affiliation, performance anxiety, time pressure and failure to see the relevance of online interaction as directly related to their individual needs as practitioners. Approaches to remediating these challenges and promoting more authentic teacher engagement are outlined.     

实践共同体理论对学校教育变革的启示

在莱芙和温格提出了"实践共同体"理论之后,不少教育工作者尝试将这一理论引入教育领域,在课堂上构建实践共同体。但基于日常社会生活的学习与学校教育不可避免地存在着差异,在学校教育中生硬地套用实践共同体理论有损教学的有效性。因此,有必要先厘清概念,分析实践共同体理论的长处与不足,阐明实践共同体与学校教育的异同,以真正深入探讨如何将学校和社会联结起来,一起构建真正意义上的实践共同体,使学生早日实现相关共同体的合法边缘参与,获得广泛的学习经验,向着成为共同体中的核心成员的方向成长。     

Beyond evaluative studies: perceptions of teaching qualifications from probationary lecturers in the UK

Probation is little used as a frame of reference in academic development literature. Frequently, the focus is on evaluating teaching qualifications for new lecturers. Less often investigated is the issue of situating such a course within the overall experience of new academics, to consider the role that teaching qualifications have within wider probationary processes in the UK. This qualitative study sought the views of new academics on various influences shaping their socialisation. Insights from this work can feed usefully into policy and practices for academic developers, and three key themes – equity, impact and congruence – are elaborated in this article.     

Ask an anatomist: Identifying global trends,topics and themes of academic anatomists using twitter

Social media (SoMe) is increasingly used in higher education (HE) to access knowledge and enable global communication. The SoMe platform Twitter^® is particularly beneficial in these contexts because it is readily accessible, easily searchable (via hashtags) and global. Given these advantages, the twitter platform @AskAnatomist was created to foster a global weekly tweet chat, where students and academics can ask and address anatomy‐related questions. The aim of this study was to identify themes arising in the early stages of the @AskAnatomy Twitter community to gain insights into current needs/key areas for academic anatomists, students, and other followers. A qualitative analysis of tweets including the hashtag #AnatQ, (the associated @AskAnatomist hashtag), was undertaken to achieve this aim. Thematic analysis revealed three core themes arising in the formative stages of the @AskAnatomist Twitter site: (1) anatomical education modalities, (2) specific anatomy content, and (3) research motivations. These themes reveal controversies within the field of anatomical sciences, areas for potential education resource improvement and research, as well as the humor of anatomists. Though the original intent of the @AskAnatomist site was to engage the general public in anatomy content and knowledge, tweet analysis suggests that academic anatomists were the primary active “tweeters”. Interestingly, this analysis reveals that the @AskAnatomist site progressed into a web‐based community of practice (CoP), suggesting an additional benefit of SoMe communities in the field of anatomy. Anat Sci Educ 11: 270–281. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Higher education curriculum orientations and the implications for institutional curriculum change

This research is based on an empirical study exploring how academics make curriculum decisions and their perceptions of the influences that shape their decisions. Interviews were held with 20 academics from diverse disciplines, who were both research active and committed to teaching. The higher education curriculum was conceptualised as a field of decision-making shaped by academics’ beliefs about educational and contextual influences. The study identified five distinctive curriculum orientations representing coherent patterns of curriculum decisions aligned with academics’ beliefs about educational purposes. Case studies are presented to elucidate each of the curriculum orientations. Curriculum orientations were also found to shape academics’ responses to educational change. The following higher education change drivers are explored: graduate employability and the skills agenda, teaching–research relationships, changing understandings about teaching and learning, educational technologies and flexible delivery. The findings suggest implications for institutional curriculum change initiatives and academic development programmes.     

基于实践共同体的英语教师专业发展机制研究

教师发展在很大程度上取决于教师生长的环境,在组织形式上从传统的训导模式转向以合作为基础的教师实践共同体。对国内英语教师专业发展机制的典型案例研究表明,以社会文化理论为基础的实践共同体对青年教师的成长影响深远,合作互动的优秀教师群体是英语教育改革成败的关键。     

Lessons from Star Trek: engaging academic staff in the internationalisation of the curriculum

One consequence of globalisation is the demand on academics to better prepare students for work and life in an interconnected world through curriculum internationalisation. Many academics are hesitant, resistant, or ill-prepared to engage with curriculum internationalisation. This paper explores how this can be addressed by reconfiguring the way academic developers engage with academics within their teaching/program teams at the discipline level. Drawing on Star Trek and nomadic space, we theorise a participatory, situative approach to engaging disciplinary academic teams in the internationalisation of the curriculum process. We illustrate this from our work with teaching/program teams in two Australian universities.     

Moving Science Off the “Back Burner”: Meaning Making Within an Action Research Community of Practice

In this study, the participants conceptualized and implemented an action research project that focused on the infusion of inquiry principles into a neglected science curriculum. Specific objectives were to find (a) What factors challenge and support the evolution of an action research community of practice? (b) How are teachers’ beliefs about science teaching and learning transformed? and (c) How does teachers’ knowledge of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and student learning change as a result of learning within a community of practice? In this instrumental case study (Stake 2000, In N. K. Denzin, &; Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 435–454). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage), a range of data collection sources and methods were adopted. Outcomes focus on how the design principles for cultivating a community of practice emerged in the action research group, as well as the types of teacher learning that occurred by engaging in action research.     

新课程与教学生命发展的价值取向与实践转型

教育是培养人的活动,是人类创设的以满足个体发展需要的特殊环境,具有满足人自身发展需要的客观属性。课程与教学的价值就是对人和社会的需要的满足,或者说是人的发展价值和社会发展价值。新课程与教学在传统特别注重人的社会发展价值的基础上更加注重人的发展价值。以人为本,把生命发展的全面性、独特性、自主性、生成性和现实性作为基本的价值取向。实现生命发展的课程与教学实践行动转型,将更加有利于学生全面和谐发展,从而实现教育人性关怀的终极目标。     

Developing academics’ assessment practices in open,distance and e-learning: an institutional change agenda

Abstract

Universities across the globe are attempting to change assessment practice to address challenges in student engagement and achievement. Integral to this objective are strategies to develop academics’ assessment practice. These frequently focus on attendance at formal Continuous Professional Development events and/or implementation of institutional blueprints. This editorial article uses a case study from the Open University (UK) to explore an alternative ‘communities of practice’ approach to the improvement of assessment arguing that academics’ professional expertise is best deepened through participation in authentic activities of teaching and scholarship. The discussion identifies what is involved in such an approach including the role of an enabling principles-based framework, the constraints on implementation and the implications for HE leaders.     

Creating communities: a consortium model for early childhood leaders

The current paper describes an urban university-anchored but community-based consortium of early childhood centers and community partners in a large Midwestern US city. The goal of the Consortium is to provide professional development opportunities that include networking, coaching, and collaboration as part of a community of practice (CoP) intended to improve program quality. Our findings suggest that early childhood center directors who are part of the Consortium describe benefits consistent with a CoP, specifically in terms of connection, resources, and community. Our findings also show that sense of community is associated with deeper engagement with the Consortium and program quality rating of the member center. Implications of the findings for future practice, especially in urban settings, are discussed.     

合作研究共同体:教师专业发展共赢模式的实践探索

合作研究共同体是在顶岗支教实习基地建立由课程与教学论专家、基地学校在职教师、实习教师组成的合作研究团队,是适应教师教育改革趋势的一种新的教师专业发展模式。实践表明,这一模式对教师专业发展具有显著的促进作用。具体表现在:实习教师的道德观念得到提升,课堂教学技能得到提高,就业观念得到更新;在职教师的新课程理念转变成了教学行为,教学设计能力得到加强,教育科研能力得到提高,教育技术能力得到加强;课程与教学论专家的授课内容针对性加强,研究视野拓宽。     

I just do not have time for new ideas: resistance,resonance and micro-mobilisation in a teaching community of practice

There is growing interest in the role Communities of Practice (CoPs) play in continuing professional development of academics. However, very little research has explored how CoP theory is applied in practice in academic settings. Using the concepts of resonance and micro-mobilisation from social movement theory, we explore academic engagement (and disengagement) in the online aspects of a CoP in a large, multi-campus, multi-disciplinary university business school. Our findings demonstrate that while some found this environment useful and minor patterns of micro-mobilisation emerged, there were challenges in developing resonance using online technologies. Difficulties in finding technologies fit for purpose, concerns about confidentiality online and time jealousy were key issues that need further exploration.     

Transforming teaching challenges into learning opportunities: interdisciplinary reflective collaboration

ABSTRACT

Teaching in higher education poses unique sets of challenges, especially for academics in the engineering, built sciences and information science education disciplines. This article focuses on how reflective collaboration can support academics in their quest to find unique solutions to challenges in different academic contexts. A reflective collaboration framework was applied during a three-year interpretive research process at an Engineering, Information Technology and Built Environment Faculty in a residential research intensive university in South Africa. Interdisciplinary reflective collaboration was found to bring richness and depth into investigations of complex teaching challenges. This framework provides a structure to support the transformation of teaching challenges into learning opportunities through the promotion of dialogue, critique and reflection between engineering and education academics.     

Investigating invisible writing practices in the engineering curriculum using practice architectures

ABSTRACT

Writing practices are seen to be essential for professional engineers, yet many engineering students and academics struggle with written communication, despite years of interventions to improve student writing. Much has been written about the importance of getting engineering students to write, but there has been a little investigation of engineering academics’ perceptions of writing practices in the curriculum, and the extent to which these practices are visible to their students and to the academics. This paper draws on research from an ongoing study into the invisibility of writing practices in the engineering curriculum using a practice architectures lens. The paper uses examples from the sites of practice of two participants in the study to argue that prevailing practices in engineering education constrain more than enable the development and practice of writing in the engineering curriculum.