Abstract:

Introduction:
Higher education teachers in Portugal do not have mandatory training for their professional practice. Additionally, there are no professional organizations that provide sustainable communities for their academic development. As such, to develop their skills, they seek support at the local and even at the intra-institutional level, look for formal training (graduate courses, workshops, conferences, and other events), or contact colleagues informally or in peer observation programs. Still, the gap between knowledge and pedagogical practice is notorious, and it is assumed that a solitary experience both in their practice and in their professional identity is expected. However, there are positive outcomes arising from spontaneous communities, which have managed to achieve results. This is the context for the proposed study: to explain the creation and development of a small learning community of higher education teachers from different institutions and fields.

Methodology:
This study is based on the experience of four teachers who attended the Post-Graduation in Higher Education Pedagogy, in Portugal. Herein, pedagogical matters were the motto for discussion, allowing for a deeper reflection and debate that resulted in renewed professional practices. In this sense, the case study methodology is used. It focused on the teachers’ reality, to understand transversal phenomena while interpreting their particular experiences. Moreover, a chronology is made, based on the collection of their testimonies.

Results and discussion:
The study describes how some teachers come to constitute themselves as a learning community. Learning communities allow the exchange of information, tools, experiences, as well as innovation and the transfer of knowledge between colleagues more quickly and in a more relevant way. Despite the disciplinary diversity, the focus on university pedagogy founded new practices. Teachers learned lessons through peer observation, discovered skills and competencies in the joint discussion, and accepted challenges to witness their experiences in professional forums foreign to their previous experience. It should be noted that the collaborative learning experience factor, which counts on the teacher as a reflective pair, allowed progressive social learning in this learning community.

Conclusions:
Collaborative learning processes require time, trust, and commitment, as well as persistence and resilience. Higher education teachers are not always willing to think about their pedagogical practice and this path is more difficult if done solo. The present study revealed that the challenges faced in teaching and curricular construction, in the design of tasks and activities or the assessment, were enriched from perspectives from different disciplinary areas. This corroborates current literature mentioning the advantages and benefits of learning communities as infrastructures for collaborative learning.

Keywords:

Higher Education Teachers, Learning Community, Community of Practice, Higher Education Pedagogy.