Abstract:

This paper provides an evaluation of a Community of Practice and its effectiveness in building lecturer confidence in an online teaching environment. The purpose of the paper is to build lecturer confidence in an online teaching environment by harnessing an integrative approach to evaluation focusing on developmental and participatory evaluation approaches through the focus of a lecturer Community of Practice. It provides a practical social practice approach of how evaluations might be used by real people in real time. The paper explores the theories of change and usage strategy from the evaluation and how the Community of Practice can shape the innovative teaching practices of a Lifelong Learning Department. The data is taken from a focus group. Five participants are full time academics and two participants are part time academic industry practitioners. The intent of the paper is to consider how to enhance the student experience by facilitating a more confident, equipped lecturer to teach effectively in an online environment while developing a supportive, inclusive Community of Practice.

Keywords:

Community of Practice, Developmental Evaluation, Participatory Evaluation.