Bridging the transition to a new expertise in the scholarship of teaching and learning through a faculty learning community

ABSTRACT

As the higher education landscape changes, teaching-only faculty face increasing challenges to deliver evidence-based teaching through engaging with the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). This transition from discipline expert to SoTL practitioner is often poorly supported and undertaken in isolation. We describe a faculty learning community (FLC) to support teaching-only faculty engaging in SoTL. The FLC was formed to provide a space to share challenges regarding scholarship and give practical support to engage in SoTL. The FLC successfully bridged members’ transition to SoTL, providing a sense of belonging to re-connect faculty and promote scholarship.

KEYWORDS:

• Collaborative learning
• faculty learning community
• higher education
• scholarship of teaching and learning
• teaching-only faculty

Acknowledgments

We dedicate this paper to the memory of Jane MacKenzie. We acknowledge the support of Maureen Bain, Joanne Burke, Jill Morrison, and Anne Tierney. We also acknowledge the encouraging dialogue established with the ‘Edinburgh Napier University Faculty Learning Community’. The creation of the FLC was supported by the Wellcome Institutional Strategic Support Fund (ISSF) Network and Event Fund.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Emma Bailey

Emma Bailey is a Lecturer in Anatomy at the University of Glasgow.

Ashley Le Vin

Ashley Le Vin is a Lecturer in Zoology at the University of Glasgow.

Louise Miller

Louise Miller is a Lecturer in Physiology at the University of Glasgow.

Katherine Price

Katherine Price is a Lecturer in Physiology at the University of Glasgow.

Sharon Sneddon

Sharon Sneddon is a Lecturer in Embryology at the University of Glasgow.

Genevieve Stapleton

Genevieve Stapleton is a Senior Lecturer in Cell Biology at the University of Glasgow.

Lissann Wolfe

Lissann Wolfe is a Veterinary Clinical Skills Lecturer at the University of Glasgow.