Communities of Practice

CETAL will be facilitating communities of practice in the fall. The Communities of Practice will give faculty the opportunity to explore different approaches and get support from peers and CETAL while experimenting with the implementation of those approaches.

Overview

Communities of Practice (CoP) are groups of people who share a concern, as set of problems, or a passion about a topic. They deepen their knowledge of this topic by having ongoing interactions. Communities of Practices provide faculty the opportunity to explore different approaches and receive support while implementing these new approaches and concepts. Individuals that participate in a CoP will have the opportunity to learn about different approaches and receive support while implementing new ideas. They will interact regularly throughout the semester to engage in academic discourse and share successes and challenges with integrating a new practice into their classes. Each Community of Practice will have the following goals:

Engage in academic discourse with colleagues.
Implement a practice aligned with the topic of the community.
Create an artifact demonstrating the implementation of the practice.
Reflect on the practice and implementation and its impact.

Note: Faculty who complete a semester in a Community of Practice earn 12 Workshop Clock Hours of lane movement credit.

Expectations

Communities of Practice are a semester-long commitment. Individuals in the CoPs will meet regularly over the course of the semester.
The meeting schedule and the frequency of the meetings will depend on the CoP. However, participants should expect to meet for a total of roughly 2 hours each month.
Each CoP will feature a relevant text. Participants will choose how to best apply concepts from the text to their classes. During the regular meetings, participants will discuss the reading and the implementation of the new practice.

Fall 2023 Topic 1: Nontraditional Grading Practices

Nontraditional grading practices have been shown to be more equitable and can increase student engagement by promoting their ownership of their grades and learning processes. The Nontraditional Grading Practices Community will be reading Specifications Grading by Linda B. Nilson (provided by CETAL). They will receive support and feedback from CETAL and the other members of their Community of Practice while implementing a nontraditional grading practice of their choice.

Fall 2023 Topic 2: Authentic and Transparent Assignments

“Authentic” assignments are defined as assignments that are, or that at least mimic, applications of class skills and knowledge outside of a classroom setting. Examples include projects in a Business class in which students help local businesses come up with materials or a Marketing class that partners with student clubs to design promotions. “Transparent” assignments are assignment descriptions that emphasize for students what the value of the assignment is intended to be for them and how they’ll use the skills and knowledge down the road.

In this community of practice, we’ll focus on summative (major) assignment design and assignment descriptions. Participants will provide feedback to one another and receive feedback on their assignments, with a focus on creating authentic and transparent assignments that align with course outcomes.

Registration

Topic 1: Nontraditional Grading Practices

Topic 2: Authentic and Transparent Assignments