CREATING A COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY COLLEGE CULTURE THROUGH THE PRACTICE OF THE SCHOLARSHIP OF TEACHING AND LEARNING (SoTL)

Abstract

At the college-level, instructors are experts in their own subject matter, but often have less knowledge of the theory and practice of successful teaching models and techniques for enhancing student learning and engagement (Burns, 2017). The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) has developed as a practice that supports inquiry and assessment of teaching in higher education and. Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) have emerged from the principles of SoTL as a means for faculty to build community while assessing their own teaching effectiveness and sharing their results with others. In many institutions of higher education, faculty members and departments are well known to be isolated from each other, yet organizations that foster a collaborative, cross-disciplinary culture, including institutions of higher education, also enhance professionalism and growth. This dissertation examines the cases of three different community colleges and the ways they have implemented SoTL practices with their faculty. The study explores in what ways the implementation of SoTL practices through Faculty Learning Communities promote improved pedagogical practices and foster collaboration. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews followed up with a focus group involving all of the participants. These illustrative cases of individuals who are implementing SoTL practices at their institutions were examined as one larger case study and analyzed through the framework of Collaboration Theory. Essential themes generated were the role of the community college in SoTL, campus culture, effect on teaching, and faculty led vs top down faculty development. The implications in each theme are investigated, and the function of SoTL in the community college, as well as the effects on fostering a collaborative campus culture, is discussed.