Abstract:

In 2019 the University of Trento founded FormID, the University Teaching Learning Centre (TLC), whose task is to promote educational leadership and strategic initiatives that consolidate the processes of teaching, learning and assessment continuous enhancement by supporting the professional development of academics.
The programs implemented by the TLC aim at developing the quality of teaching practices and the individual and collective professional growth of academics, with the ultimate goal of promoting student success (Felisatti, Serbati 2019).
FormID offers both formal paths (such as seminars and workshops) and non-formal initiatives that are more tailored to individual needs, such as consultancies with an academic developer, or communities of practice.
In fact, five interdepartmental communities of practice (CoPs) have been set up at the University of Trento with the aim of disseminating innovative teaching, learning and assessment practices and collective reflection on continuous improvement (Cox, 2004; Wenger, 2011). The CoP environment sustains the professional development that begins from academics’ experience, integrating an explicit and a tacit dimension, supporting a knowledge construction process at both individual and organisational levels.
The aim of this contribution is to present the results of a research study carried out to assess the impact of CoPs and eventually improve their role for academics.
For this purpose, one of the Community Assessment Toolkit (CAT) instruments was used, in particular the questionnaire addressed to members (Verburg, Andriessen, 2006).
The data collected were triangulated with non-participant observation conducted by an external member in each community (N=5) and an interview with the CoP facilitators (N=5).
From the observations and interviews, shared elements from all communities emerged:
- members motivated to participate;
- high level of practice sharing;
- good interaction;
- rich exchange of ideas;
- application in class of the strategies, tools and solutions identified in the CoP.
The first results of the questionnaires (N=38) show that the CoP represents added value for the academics and that participation is important and enjoyable: in fact, participation supported the acquisition of new knowledge and ideas on teaching topics, offered the possibility to share difficulties in a safe environment and find solutions to teaching problems. The heterogeneity of members represents a richness and makes it possible to establish new useful contacts.
Among the members it emerged the desire to strengthen mutual support and exchange between colleagues also through mutual observation in the classroom, mentoring and peer feedback.
The CoP approach indeed seems to create the basis for the development of future mentoring and peer observation projects capable of scaffolding the mutual support and trust created.

References:
[1] Cox M. (2004), “Introduction to Faculty Learning Communities”, in New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 97, pp. 5-23.
[2] Felisatti, E., & Serbati, A. (2019). Prospettive e pratiche di sviluppo professionale dei docenti universitari. P. Federighi, M. Ranieri & G. Bandini (editors). Digital Scholarship tra Ricerca e Didattica. Studi, Ricerche, Esperienze, 66-72
[3] Verburg, R. M., & Andriessen, J. E. (2006). The assessment of communities of practice. Knowledge and process Management, 13(1), 13-25.
[4] Wenger, E. (2011). Communities of practice: A brief introduction.

Keywords:

Faculty development, professional development, community of practice, higher education, community assessment.