Do birds of a feather flock together? Lessons from an interdisciplinary and interinstitutional community-development approach to faculty development

ABSTRACT

Faculty development is essential to promote pedagogical innovation and the transformation of teaching practices. The faculty development model presented in this study was guided by three research questions about how scholars engage in institutionally held training opportunities for professional development; how scholars engage with and collaborate within learning communities/communities of practice; and the implications and perceived impacts of such dynamics for the conceptualization of faculty development approaches aimed at community development. The results highlight community development as an interdisciplinary opportunity to reflect, learn, diversify, rethink, envision, and be intentional about pedagogy. A desenvolvimento pedagógico docente no Ensino Superior é essencial para a inovação e transformação das práticas de ensino e aprendizagem. Neste estudo, apresenta-se um modelo de desenvolvimento pedagógico assente três questões de investigação: como se envolvem os docentes em sessões de formação pedagógica da instituição; como se envolvem e colaboram os docentes em comunidades de aprendizagem e prática; quais as implicações e impactos percebidos destas iniciativas no desenvolvimento pedagógico dos docentes e na comunidade académica. Os resultados reforçam o desenvolvimento comunitário, colaborativo e interdisciplinar entre docentes, como uma oportunidade para refletir, aprender, diversificar, repensar, projetar e conferir intencionalidade à pedagogia no Ensino Superior.

KEYWORDS:

• Higher education
• learning community/community of practice
• faculty development
• community development
• interdisciplinarity
• pedagogical innovation

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the extended CLIL team, as well as all scholars at the four campuses considered in this study, who, for their professional development, participated in the activities created by this lab for pedagogical innovation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2024.2355527.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Portugal 2020, in the frame of PO CH – Programa Operacional Capital Humano, through FSE – European Social Fund, under Grant [POCH-02-5312-FSE-000012].

Notes on contributors

Diana Soares

Diana Soares is a professor at Universidade Católica Portuguesa. She oversees teaching quality as a board member of the faculty and directs the Católica Learning Innovation Lab. Her work advances higher education policies, focusing on educational innovation and faculty development. She contributes to peer-reviewed publications and manages several educational research projects.

Amanda Franco

Amanda Franco is a researcher at Universidade do Porto’s CEAUP and she engages in the Sinergias education project and champions critical thinking and global citizenship in faculty development. With a master’s in educational psychology and pedagogical supervision, and a Ph.D. funded by FCT, she’s a Fulbright alumna with post-doctorate work and experience as a school psychologist.

Magda Rocha

Magda Rocha is a researcher at the Research Center for Human Development, and she explores attachment in youth and skill transfer in higher education. Her Ph.D. and postdoctoral work focus on the competencies of higher education graduates. She has experience as a school psychologist, higher education teaching, and supervisor of internships and theses.

Paulo Dias

Paulo Dias is an Associate Professor at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, with a specialization in Educational and Health Psychology. He holds a master’s in educational sciences and a Ph.D. in health psychology. A board member at Centre for Philosophical and Humanistic Studies, he leads research on cognition and human development, and has managed various national and European projects.