Communities of Practice

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What are Communities of Practice (CoP)?

CoPs are intentional communities of practice that are comprised of a cross-disciplinary group of faculty who meet regularly to discuss and explore a common area of interest in teaching and learning.  CoPs provide a safe, supportive community wherein members can share best practices, and engage in collegial conversation and inquiry around a topic of mutual interest.

Why would I want to join a CoP?

Are you looking for an opportunity to discuss and reflect on your teaching and connect with other faculty members across campus?  Whether you are a new faculty member looking to learn best practices, or an experienced faculty member seeking new insights, FLCs are a great way to connect with other professors and gain new perspectives.  Membership is open to anyone with an interest in the topic.

What is the role of the CAFE in supporting the CoP?

The CAFE will coordinate CoP meetings and logistics, and provide a meeting space where faculty can share resources and best practices.  The CAFE will also help to facilitate face-to-face meetings and online conversations, and will act as a resource for the CoPs and provide on-going support as needed.  Each CoP will be able to decide on its own how to format and structure its meetings and what kinds of activities to commit to and participate in.

Current CoPs at DC

  • Online/Hybrid Course Design and Delivery - This CoP is for those interested in sharing knowledge, skills, resources, experiences, and best practices for designing and teaching online and hybrid courses.
  • Education Studies - This CoP will provide an opportunity for faculty who are currently completing graduate degrees in education (i.e. CMU’s MA in Education, UOIT’s MA or MEd in Education, etc.), or who have completed graduate education degrees in the past, to share their experiences, give and receive support, and learn from each other in a collegial environment.
  • The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) -  This CoP is for those interested in exploring SoTL and discussing how SoTL approaches can be implemented into their practice.  Each month, a new presenter from the group will pre-select a peer-reviewed article and lead participants in a discussion about the article. The goal of this SoTL activity is to provide an opportunity for our community to explore the SoTL literature in a group setting, both to find practical applications to implement in the classroom and to inform our own SoTL projects.
  • Teaching Portfolio Development - This CoP provides an opportunity for faculty to develop a teaching portfolio or refresh an existing teaching portfolio.   The CoP is designed for faculty to consider a teaching philosophy, and work on the design and development of a teaching portfolio, either digital or paper-based, in an informal, supportive, sharing and collegial environment.

What are Communities of Practice (CoP)?

CoPs are intentional communities of practice that are comprised of a cross-disciplinary group of faculty who meet regularly to discuss and explore a common area of interest in teaching and learning.  CoPs provide a safe, supportive community wherein members can share best practices, and engage in collegial conversation and inquiry around a topic of mutual interest.

Why would I want to join a CoP?

Are you looking for an opportunity to discuss and reflect on your teaching and connect with other faculty members across campus?  Whether you are a new faculty member looking to learn best practices, or an experienced faculty member seeking new insights, FLCs are a great way to connect with other professors and gain new perspectives.  Membership is open to anyone with an interest in the topic.

What is the role of the CTL in supporting the CoP?

The CTL will help to facilitate face-to-face meetings and online conversations, and will act as a resource for the CoPs and provide on-going support as needed.  Each CoP will be able to decide on its own how to format and structure its meetings and what kinds of activities to commit to and participate in.

Join the Online Community of Practice Microsoft Teams!

LOOKING TO CONNECT WITH YOUR FACULTY COLLEAGUES VIRTUALLY?

There is a new online faculty Community of Practice in which faculty can connect with one another virtually, ask questions, share practices and resources as well as receive updates about new professional development opportunities. The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) launched the online community on March 16th in Microsoft Teams for faculty to support each other during this time of disruption. This community is open to all DC faculty – full-time, part-time or sessional. We encourage you to connect and learn from one another.

TO JOIN:

Join the Faculty Community of Practice: Working with International Students

LOOKING TO CONNECT WITH YOUR FACULTY COLLEAGUES to gain ideas on supporting and working with international students?

Remote delivery offers many opportunities, as well as some challenges for all students, but international students are dealing with some unique situations that may make it difficult for them to engage fully. To support faculty, the International Education Office and the CTL have launched a Community of Practice (CoP) for faculty (contract or full-time) teaching international students studying in remote programs. Rogier Ten Kate, DC’s Global Learning Facilitator will be helping support this. The CoP is an opportunity for faculty to ask questions and to share resources and ideas.

TO JOIN:

Community of Practice: Indigenization and Decolonization (Hosted by Ontario Tech University's Teaching and Learning Centre)

The broad goals of this CoP are to generate ideas, seek feedback, and share stories about Indigenizing and decolonizing content, instructional approaches, and interactions; identify, develop, or experiment with strategies and resources that support Indigenous students and/or the inclusion of Indigenous pedagogies and content for all students; and most importantly, to develop a collaborative, supportive, and flexible group interested in Indigenization and decolonization.

If you are interested in joining, please complete the registration process and watch your email for further information. Please reach out to Amanda Maknyik (amanda.maknyik@devcourses.durhamcollege.ca) with any questions.

Community of Practice: Flexible Delivery

Flexible delivery is a relatively new mode of course delivery at Durham College; the goal of this CoP is to build collective capacity in this unique delivery mode through the co-creation of knowledge. By sharing our experiences, understandings, challenges, success, and frustrations we hope to develop a pathway for others to embark into flexible delivery in the future.

If you are interested in joining, please reach out to Tanya Wakelin (Tanya.Wakelin@devcourses.durhamcollege.ca), and she can add you to the CoP as well as ensure that you are provided access to our DC Connect Flexible Delivery Toolkit.