Fostering Communities of Practice Among Community College Science Faculty

Abstract

Objective/Research Question: This paper reports on data collected in a multi-year National Science Foundation grant project involving a professional development (PD) model built to support community college faculty as change agents (CAs). The research question was: How do disciplinary communities of practice (CoP) emerge among community college faculty working in teams? Methods: This research employed a mixed-method design. Data collection included interviews, focus-group sessions, reflective journals, observations, end-of-workshop evaluations, survey data with the 23 geoscience faculty CA, and data from a national survey. Data analysis used the principles of CoP. Results: When compared to other community college geoscience faculty nationally, the participants in our study reported greater levels of behaviors characteristic of CoP. The CoP emerged due to network building and resource sharing within the PD. The findings highlight the significance of structured PD on the development of robust disciplinary CoP. The initial orientation of CAs, existing institutional structures, and cultures of community colleges influenced the CoP. Putting lessons learned into practice, sharing outcomes, and leading regional PD for others contributed to strengthening of the CoP. Conclusions/Contributions: Intentional PD catalyzed the emergence of strong CoP among the community college geoscience faculty participants. The opportunities to connect with disciplinary colleagues teaching in community colleges who shared an interest in supporting student success and improving teaching practices and the opportunity to share lessons learned contributed to the CoP. Structured interactions, critical reflection, and leading colleagues in PD supported developing, maintaining, and growing the CoP.

A river runs through it : landscapes of learning, development and change of nontraditional workers.

“…COPs have been seen to be particularly helpful in teacher (educator) development studies globally and locally (Akinyemi et al, 2019;Eddy et al, 2022;Romero & Vasilopoulos, 2020). A brief overview of a global and a local example, below, are illustrative of such studies.…”

Strengthening co-op educators' support practices for international students' transitional experiences in the American workplaces

“…Professional Learning Communities, to be productive for engaging educators in collaborative learning aimed at improving student support and learning outcomes (Brouwer et al, 2012;Eddy et al, 2022;Muhayimana & Hill, 2023;Yarema & Gee, 2018). Mligo and Fulgence (2023) argued that Communities of Practice triumph over standardized professional development programs by allowing educators to define their learning goals and contents specific to their workplace context, encouraging active engagement and desired learning outcomes.…”

“…Mligo and Fulgence (2023) argued that Communities of Practice triumph over standardized professional development programs by allowing educators to define their learning goals and contents specific to their workplace context, encouraging active engagement and desired learning outcomes. In a Community of Practice within a school context, teachers who share a common concern or passion interact regularly to improve their knowledge and practices in the focused area (Brouwer et al, 2012;Eddy et al, 2022;Muhayimana & Hill, 2023). Communities of Practices provide a safe and supportive environment (Muhayimana & Hill, 2023) for educators to cocreate shared knowledge and resource repertoires, increase competencies, and foster positive change within their workplace (Brouwer et al, 2012;Eddy et al, 2022;Muhayimana & Hill, 2023).…”

“…In a Community of Practice within a school context, teachers who share a common concern or passion interact regularly to improve their knowledge and practices in the focused area (Brouwer et al, 2012;Eddy et al, 2022;Muhayimana & Hill, 2023). Communities of Practices provide a safe and supportive environment (Muhayimana & Hill, 2023) for educators to cocreate shared knowledge and resource repertoires, increase competencies, and foster positive change within their workplace (Brouwer et al, 2012;Eddy et al, 2022;Muhayimana & Hill, 2023). Furthermore, educators involved in productive professional learning communities are reported to experience increased confidence in their work, expanded network and support systems, and new opportunities for collaboration with colleagues (Eddy et al, 2022;Muhayimana & Hill, 2023).…”

“…According to Akkerman et al (2008), shared and coordinated activities keep communities of practices vibrant and drive them toward the shared goals. Through ongoing interactions, community members develop a shared repertoire of experiences, practices, and competence to address the common issues faced (Brouwer et al, 2012;Eddy et al, 2022). The Community of Practice established in this action research was carefully planned by the researcher and collaborators to attend to the topics important to the participants.…”