Faculty Learning Communities

The CIP hosts annual faculty learning communities, in which faculty and staff meet regularly to explore a particular topic as it relates to best practices in teaching and learning.

We are currently soliciting applications for 2019-20 Faculty Learning Communities! Please contact Joe Murphy in the CIP if you'd like to discuss your idea for an FLC.

WHAT IS A FACULTY LEARNING COMMUNITY (FLC)?

A faculty learning community is a group of 6-10 faculty and staff members, usually from a variety of disciplines, who meet regularly to explore a particular topic as it relates to best practices in teaching and learning. Members have the opportunity to interact with colleagues who share similar pedagogical questions or issues, experiment with new approaches to teaching and learning, and engage in collaborative research related to the topic of the FLC.

Each group will work toward a public representation of their study — a white paper, portfolio website, bibliography of resources, panel presentation, or the like. This responsibility to create a resource for the community is one of the distinguishing factors between an FLC and a more lightly programmed study or discussion group. 

WHAT DOES AN FLC DO?

Groups are expected to meet approximately once every three weeks over the course of the academic year. Each group will have a co-facilitator from the CIP who will assist with scheduling meetings (and procuring supplies and refreshments). Depending on the topic, an FLC might conduct a literature review, discuss common readings, collaborate on course or assignment designs, or test out new tools for scholarship and teaching. Each group will have a $600 budget for project costs — potentially including books, tools, meals, or other costs as appropriate. Again, the goal is to create a public resource for the whole community.

What FLCs have been offered before?

In 2017-18, we offered our inaugural FLCs:

• Community-Engaged Learning: Connecting Communities and Curricula 
• First Year Seminars at Kenyon College

In 2018-19, we offered three FLCs:

• Connecting the Humanities
• Curricular Diversity
• Rethinking Teaching on Gender and Sexuality

WHAT’S NEEDED TO PROPOSE AN FLC?

The CIP will make a call for FLCs each spring. We encourage interested faculty to contact us about the proposal process. 

1. You need a champion who is prepared to facilitate the group, along with the CIP. It’s not the facilitator’s job to teach a seminar on the topic, but they do need enough expertise to structure the first couple of meetings and make suggestions along the way. The facilitator’s job is to help the community define its work and stay energized and on task over the year.
2. You need a topic of a size which will support sustained investigation over the academic year. If what you want is actually a book club or article reading group, please contact the CIP to set one up. (We love to sponsor them!) However, an FLC needs a level of focused, sustained engagement and a public outcome which goes beyond a normal reading group.
3. You need a goal and a sense of possible outcomes. This can be in broad strokes, since the FLC members need to have some say in it, but a clear goal will help design the first few meetings and recruit the best participants.