Have you ever had a ‘hallway conversation’ about something you or a colleague is doing in your class, or thought, how can I bring other subjects or areas into your my discipline? Creating Communities of Practice is a way to begin that conversation/process.
What are Communities of Practice at Skyline College?
Communities of Practice (CoP) are a new professional development opportunity to bring together small interdisciplinary teams of faculty, staff, and administrators (6-8) who will meet regularly throughout the academic year to discuss, strategize, address pedagogy or academia-related problem of mutual interest. The goal of each CoP will be to develop a work plan by October 2017 that outlines deliverables for the academic year. It is expected that each CoP will meet a minimum of once a month and present results of projects to the campus community on Flex Day, August 2018.
Each CoP will be led by one faculty lead who will facilitate the group and provide leadership throughout the experience. The objective of each CoP is to provide solutions for improving the experience of faculty and students at Skyline College.
The topic areas for the communities of practices this year are:
- Social Justice & Sustainability
- Service Learning
- Transformative Pedagogy and Practices
- Hybrid and Online Learning
Why are we launching Communities of Practice?
Skyline College is investing heavily in professional development for faculty and staff—infusing pedagogy with culturally fluency and digital savvy. Redesigned and more effective student experiences require multiple dimensions of faculty expertise. Mastery of content remains essential, but equally important is expertise in effective teaching practices, curriculum pathway design, instructional technologies, learning assessment, and student development. Communities of Practice create a cross-functional structure to improve student success.
Interested in being a CoP Faculty Lead?
We need you and your expertise to make Communities of Practice at Skyline College successful. Selected Faculty leads will receive:
- Compensation of $1500 per semester.
- Each CoP group will receive a base budget of $3600 for operational expenses (i.e. materials, travel, guest speakers, etc.)
Next Steps:
- Complete and submit the online application to be a faculty lead for the topic area of your interest.
The submission deadline for applications is Wednesday, May 3, by 11:59pm.
- Meet with CoP Steering Committee to discuss your interest in being a faculty lead during week of May 8th.
- You will receive official notification about the status of your application by May 15th.
If you have questions or would like to know about the Communities of Practice at Skyline College, contact any member of the CoP Steering Committee:
- Ricardo Flores
- Lasana Hotep
- Jim Houpis
- Katrina Pantig
- Bianca Rowden-Quince
Article by Jim Houpis
