Convene, Commune, and Connect! A Tale of Two Faculty Learning Communities

Concurrent Session 10
Streamed Session

Watch This Session

Brief Abstract

In this session, attendees will hear from and engage with higher education association leadership, vendor partners, and faculty peers as they share insights from two distinct models of faculty learning communities that can support the adoption of evidence-based teaching and equitable digital learning practices at your institution.

 

Presenters

Lead Presenter: Megan Tesene, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities

Megan Tesene, Ph.D., is the Director for the Personalized Learning Consortium at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. Megan directs several complex national initiatives within the PLC’s Digital Transformation for Student Success portfolio. In this role, she collaborates with a broad range of post-secondary leaders and constituencies across the United States to support public universities in the adoption and implementation of evidence-based teaching practices and educational technologies. Her work centers on enhancing pedagogy, improving accessibility, building institutional capacities to support equity in higher education, and ensuring that students and faculty have the supports and resources necessary to thrive.

Co-presenter: Ryan Luke, University of Louisville

Ryan Luke is the Adaptive Learning Program Director at the University of Louisville. Prior to this role, Ryan taught college level mathematics for almost ten years. In addition to Mathematics, he holds a degree in Computer Science and began investigating digital courseware because of his interest in Mathematical Computing. His passion for teaching and love for students fueled his dedication to student growth and success initiatives. He now leads a team in the Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning to aid faculty in implementing adaptive and personalized learning through digital solutions.

Co-presenter: Lisa Levinson, Lumen Learning

Co-presenter: Susan Slavicz, Florida State College at Jacksonville

Extended Abstract

Faculty learning communities, when implemented well, can provide faculty with a transformative professional development experience that taps into the power of a collaborative network of peers to build individual and institutional knowledges and supports faculty in adopting effective and equitable teaching practices. Within a robust and engaged faculty learning community, faculty both learn from and mentor their peers and establish a stronger sense of belonging and agency in guiding their own professional development journeys. In this session, attendees will hear from higher education association leadership, vendor partners, and faculty about how faculty learning communities can be implemented to support faculty professional development in service of achieving equitable student success. Supported by the Every Learner Everywhere network, the Personalized Learning Consortium at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities hosted and launched its Disciplinary Communities of Practice initiative during the 2021-2022 academic year. The initiative sought to bring disciplinary peers from math, biology, chemistry, and writing to identify, share, and develop discipline-specific teaching and learning strategies while focusing on effective practices and equitable digital learning.  Lumen Circles are virtual learning communities that connect faculty with their peers and provide faculty with professional development learning in the areas of self-reflective practices and evidence-based teaching. Join us for an interactive dialogue with experts and faculty peers where you will learn about these two models of faculty learning communities and how they can be leveraged to support faculty learning and student success at your institution.