University of Illinois at Springfield Community of Practice & Faculty Development Laurel Vaughn Newman, Ph. D. Shari McCurdy Smith, M.A.

Communities of Practice  Informal groups who share a concern, set of problems or a passion about a topic…  Deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis (Wenger, Mc Dermott & Snyder, 2002, p. 4).

Communities of Practice  Allow members to help each other solve problems, share best practices and explore innovations. Presentation Focus/Explore the development of COPE-L established at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Community of Practice  Is situated learning: embedded in activity/culture embedded in activity/culture unintentional unintentional social and collaborative social and collaborative

Community of Practice on E-Learning  Began as a grass roots  collaborative effort between  experienced online faculty  support staff within the Office of Technology Enhanced Learning.

Why Initiate a Community of Practice?  Launching new online programs.

Why not build on UIS experience?

Reduce faculty time on learning curve. ONLINE?

Knowledge about best practices residing in departmental silos.

Just-in Time Learning

C – Community O – Of O – Of P – Practice in P – Practice in E – Electronic E – Electronic L – Learning L – LearningCOPE-L

Early steps  Identify key leaders among faculty and OTEL who teach online (recruited 9)  Explain intent and seek buy in from Provost Provost Campus Senate Campus Senate

Our Intent ala Wenger… Share knowledge and best practices Share knowledge and best practices Develop informal networks and mutually helpful relationships among members Develop informal networks and mutually helpful relationships among members Identify problems and seek solutions to problems shared by members Identify problems and seek solutions to problems shared by members Provide opportunities to explore and innovate in the area of e-learning Provide opportunities to explore and innovate in the area of e-learning Wenger, E, McDermott, R. & Snyder, W.M. (2002). Cultivating Communities of Practice. Cambridge: Harvard Business School Press

Our Domain  E-Learning: Online courses/programs Online courses/programs Blended courses/programs Blended courses/programs Technology enhanced courses/programs Technology enhanced courses/programs  Common Threads: Pedagogy Pedagogy Scholarship Scholarship Technology Technology Student Services & Outreach Student Services & Outreach

Launch Kick off meeting – October, 2006 Short presentation on state of e- learning at UIS Short presentation on state of e- learning at UIS Topics of interest & scholarship focus Topics of interest & scholarship focus

The First Two Years….  Average 25 at each meeting  Over 50 different faculty/staff have attended the sessions.  Over 60 faculty staff have requested to be on COPE-L mailing list.

Morning Edition Comes to UIS COPE-L Featured Larry Abramson Education Correspondent, National Desk

Challenges  Topic tool on website-get the right tool  Departmental commitments and alliances  Cultural change  Limitation of form, take time to establish, not a job for any one person  Pace of change of the topic—timeliness  Not techsupport  Moving “sphere of influence”  Capturing change in practice derived from COPE-L  Measure progress in achieving the intents

Our Intent ala Wenger… Share knowledge and best practices Share knowledge and best practices Develop informal networks and mutually helpful relationships among members Develop informal networks and mutually helpful relationships among members Identify problems and seek solutions to problems shared by members Identify problems and seek solutions to problems shared by members Provide opportunities to explore and innovate in the area of e-learning Provide opportunities to explore and innovate in the area of e-learning Wenger, E, McDermott, R. & Snyder, W.M. (2002). Cultivating Communities of Practice. Cambridge: Harvard Business School Press

Our Website otel/uis.edu/copel otel/uis.edu/copel

Website Changes  Wiki  Opportunity to add content such as papers and bookmarks  A Virtual Community

A Work-in-Progress  Learning Events: Speaker(s) focus Speaker(s) focus Information presentation Information presentation Time for question & answers. Time for question & answers.  Networking Events: Peer-to-peer Peer-to-peer Still topic focused Still topic focused minute conversation starter minute conversation starter

Our Benefit Focus  Community of Practice in online learning sparks others  Focuses eyes toward peer to peer networking/relationships  Opportunities for reflection  Teaching innovation  Expand institutional opportunities

Before you begin…have  Good techsupport  Strong influential steering committee  Partnership with campus experts in e- learning  A practical way to include offsite participants  Meeting coordinator

Where are we now?  Roberts (2006) asserts that communities of practice are not stable or static entities (p.625) but instead evolve over time.  Steering Committee-taking suggestions and comments from the membership at large, has introduced modifications and improvements.

 Resources for funding an online leadership faculty retreat are being sought  Bringing in individuals from outside of the community to stimulate and challenge membership thinking is critical to prevent complacency and promote environmental responsiveness

 Only through the establishment of trust will the goal of peer-to-peer assistance be fully realized.  Sharing practices, addressing questions and peer critiques can at times be a difficult and elusive goal in an academic environment where units compete for resources.