Faculty learning communities are a fairly new ideology that is gaining traction among educators and institutions. These communities have numerous benefits on professional development such as enhancing educator preparedness and learning. The possibilities of these communities are endless; however, further study is required to understand how these learning communities work and the best practices and challenges they face. Experiences and Research on Enhanced Professional Development Through Faculty Learning Communities shares the experiences and research related to the enhanced professional development received by university faculty and staff participating in a series of collaborative faculty learning communities. The book, using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methodologies, considers educator experiences as participants in the faculty learning communities, what they learned, and how they applied and implemented best practices in their courses. Covering topics such as curricula, course design, and rubrics, this reference book is ideal for administrators, higher education professionals, program developers, program directors, researchers, academicians, scholars, practitioners, instructors, and students.

Colleges and universities across the US have created special initiatives to promote faculty development, but to date there has been little research to determine whether such programs have an impact on students' learning. Faculty Development and Student Learning reports the results of a multi-year study undertaken by faculty at Carleton College and Washington State University to assess how students' learning is affected by faculty members' efforts to become better teachers. Extending recent research in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) to assessment of faculty development and its effectiveness, the authors show that faculty participation in professional development activities positively affects classroom pedagogy, student learning, and the overall culture of teaching and learning in a college or university.

Changing our colleges and universities into learning institutions has become increasingly important at the same time it has become more difficult. Faculty learning communities have proven to be effective for addressing institutional challenges, from preparing the faculty of the future and reinvigorating senior faculty, to implementing new courses, curricula, and campus initiatives on diversity and technology. The results of faculty learning community programs parallel for faculty members the results of student learning communities for students, such as retention, deeper learning, respect for other cultures, and greater civic participation. The chapters in this issue of New Directions for Teaching and Learning describe from a practitioner's perspective the history, development, implementation, and results of faculty learning communities across a wide range of institutions and purposes. Institutions are invited to use this volume to initiate faculty learning communities on their campuses. This is the 97th issue of the quarterly journal New Directions for Teaching and Learning.

In this definitive collection of today’s most influential learning theorists, sixteen world-renowned experts present their understanding of what learning is and how human learning takes place. Professor Knud Illeris has collected chapters that explain both the complex frameworks in which learning takes place and the specific facets of learning, such as the acquisition of learning content, personal development, and the cultural and social nature of learning processes. Each international expert provides either a seminal text or an entirely new précis of the conceptual framework they have developed over a lifetime of study. Elucidating the key concepts of learning, Contemporary Theories of Learning provides both the perfect desk reference and an ideal introduction for students. It will prove an authoritative guide for researchers and academics involved in the study of learning, and an invaluable resource for all those dealing with learning in daily life and work. It provides a detailed synthesis of current learning theories... all in the words of the theorists themselves. The theories of Knud Illeris Peter Jarvis Robert Kegan Yrjö Engeström Bente Elkjaer Jack Mezirow Howard Gardner Peter Alheit John Heron Mark Tennant Jerome Bruner Robin Usher Thomas Ziehe Jean Lave Etienne Wenger Danny Wildemeersch & Veerle Stroobants In their own words

This research-based sequel to Leading Professional Learning Communities focuses on the practical process of implementing, improving, and sustaining PLCs. Appropriate for groups at all stages of PLC development, this field book helps educators improve PLC operations by facilitating individual and group development and growth. The authors provide learning opportunities that generate conversations about adult learning and contribute to supportive conditions that strengthen teacher quality and raise student outcomes.

This publication¿the latest report from AAC&U¿s Liberal Education and America¿s Promise (LEAP) initiative¿defines a set of educational practices that research has demonstrated have a significant impact on student success. Author George Kuh presents data from the National Survey of Student Engagement about these practices and explains why they benefit all students, but also seem to benefit underserved students even more than their more advantaged peers. The report also presents data that show definitively that underserved students are the least likely students, on average, to have access to these practices.

Faculty development is currently practiced in a variety of approaches by individuals, committees, and centers of excellence. More research is needed to draw better benefit from these approaches in the impending digital world by taking advantage of digitally enabled teaching and learning. The Handbook of Research on Faculty Development for Digital Teaching and Learning offers holistic and multidisciplinary approaches to enhancing faculty effectiveness in teaching, boosting motivation, extending knowledge, expanding teaching behaviors, and disseminating skills in digital higher education settings. Featuring a broad range of topics such as faculty learning communities (FLCs), virtual learning environments, and professional development, this book is ideal for educators, educational technologists, curriculum developers, higher education staff, school administrators, principals, academicians, practitioners, and graduate students.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, most schools had to suddenly shift from traditional face-to-face courses to blended, synchronous, and asynchronous instructional environments. The impact upon the immediacy of remote learning was overwhelming to many faculty, instructional facilitators, teachers, and trainers. Many faculty and trainers have experience with the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of online and blended learning environments, while many faculty and trainers also do not have this knowledge nor experience. As such, the collegial workspace has developed into a collaborative work environment wherein the faculty are helping faculty, partially because the instructional designer staff and learning advisors are overwhelmed with the number of course projects that must be moved from traditional face-to-face course environments into an online environment within a short period of time. The faculty are helping each other make this move, offering course design and development support and also instructional tips and tricks that will support successful blended and online experiences that enhance learning outcomes. Shifting to Online Learning Through Faculty Collaborative Support focuses on supporting and enhancing blended and distance learning course design and development, successful tips for course design and teaching, techniques for online learning, and embracing collegial mentorship and facilitative support for course and faculty success. This book highlights the strength of collegial bonds while discussing tools, methods, procedural efforts, styles of engagement, learning theories, assessment efforts, and even social learning engagement implementations in online learning. It provides information and lessons and embraces a long-term approach towards understanding institutional impact and collegial support. This book is valuable for school administrators, teachers, course designers, instructional designers, school faculty, business and administrative leadership, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students interested in how faculty collaborative support is playing a critical role in improving and developing successful online learning.

First released in the Spring of 1999, How People Learn has been expanded to show how the theories and insights from the original book can translate into actions and practice, now making a real connection between classroom activities and learning behavior. This edition includes far-reaching suggestions for research that could increase the impact that classroom teaching has on actual learning. Like the original edition, this book offers exciting new research about the mind and the brain that provides answers to a number of compelling questions. When do infants begin to learn? How do experts learn and how is this different from non-experts? What can teachers and schools do-with curricula, classroom settings, and teaching methodsâ€"to help children learn most effectively? New evidence from many branches of science has significantly added to our understanding of what it means to know, from the neural processes that occur during learning to the influence of culture on what people see and absorb. How People Learn examines these findings and their implications for what we teach, how we teach it, and how we assess what our children learn. The book uses exemplary teaching to illustrate how approaches based on what we now know result in in-depth learning. This new knowledge calls into question concepts and practices firmly entrenched in our current education system. Topics include: How learning actually changes the physical structure of the brain. How existing knowledge affects what people notice and how they learn. What the thought processes of experts tell us about how to teach. The amazing learning potential of infants. The relationship of classroom learning and everyday settings of community and workplace. Learning needs and opportunities for teachers. A realistic look at the role of technology in education.