Communities of practice are small groups of trusted colleagues who share similar interests and meet periodically to engage in discussion, share resources, support each other, learn new skills or gain other expertise, and network.

The Center for Teaching and Learning is pleased to announce a new initiative: we are organizing Communities of Practice (CoP) to support faculty members at all levels in topics of interest, from learning about and incorporating new, evidence-based ideas into your teaching practice, to strengthening your scholarly activity. Communities are interdisciplinary, and members support each other in implementing a targeted change in practice, in the spirit of trying something new.

We are currently looking for proposals of topics, by people who are interested in facilitating a CoP. Proposals are due September 27. In early October, the CoPs will be announced with a call for participants.

Program Structure

Facilitators will be expected to participate in an orientation meeting, coordinate meetings of your CoP (approximately every 3 weeks), create space for shared resources, and support CoP members in end-of-year presentations and reflections. CTL staff will be available to provide support and resources, as requested.

Participants: Once proposals have been reviewed, the approved CoPs will be opened to faculty participants. Communities will meet (at least) monthly and programming will be determined by the group. Members will be asked to set goals for the group and/or for your own growth and development, and to commit to producing a product at the end of the academic year (a poster, a workshop, a manuscript submission, evidence of change in teaching and its effectiveness, etc.).

Facilitators will earn a stipend of $1500 upon completion of the year's activities and submission of all deliverables. Participants will receive $500 in professional development funding that can be used to advance your own professional growth: conference attendance, membership in a professional society, participation in a webinar or short course, purchase of books or other materials, etc.

Access to these funds is contingent upon full participation in CoP meetings (1 absence per semester is permitted), submission of all reflections and an individual “deliverable” to the CoP facilitator in April 2023, before the CoP’s final meeting.

Topics

Communities can be based on specific practices (collaborative student projects, mindfulness in the classroom, adaptive learning courseware, inclusive pedagogy) or common experiences (teaching as a non-tenure-track faculty member, supervising clinical or experiential student learning, exploring opportunities available to mid-career faculty).

Some additional ideas related to teaching enhancement and scholarship include:

Teaching enhancement

Student faculty interaction, in and out of class Collaborative learning / use of student teams Authentic learning – applying learning to the real world Transparency in learning and teaching Inclusive pedagogy Adaptive learning courseware Using emerging technologies, e.g., virtual and augmented realities Incorporation of open educational resources (OER)

Scholarship

Co-writing groups Review each other’s manuscripts

Submit a proposal!

I invite you to propose a CoP on a topic that interests you! Send your proposal to ctl@nyit.edu with a subject line of “Proposal: Community of Practice” by end-of-day Tuesday, September 27.

Your proposal should include:

A statement of your interest in, and qualifications for, leading a CoP, and your capacity for committing to regular CoP meetings as well as communication and coordination with the CTL. You do not need to be an expert in the topic you propose! Rather, you must be willing and able to coordinate a group, organize meetings, and support CoP members in end-of-year presentations and reflections. A working title for the group, A one-paragraph description that addresses connections to New York Tech’s strategic action plan: either strategic priorities and / or cross-cutting themes, and A statement of support from your department chair and dean (an email is fine).

The entire application should be no more than three pages. You will be notified within 1 week, at which time calls for participants will be advertised. 

I look forward to seeing what you propose!