In this edited collection, the authors pick up the communities of practice (CoP) approach of sharing practice in their reflection on the experience of taking their CoP vision from a dream to reality. Their stories articulate the vision, the passion and the challenge of working within and/or changing existing institutional culture and practice. The book discusses strategies that worked and considers the lessons learnt to inspire future dreamers and schemers. The multiple perspectives provided in the case studies will assist higher education leaders, as well as academic and professional staff, in establishing or assessing CoPs. The book offers insights into implementation strategies, practical guidelines and ideas on how CoP theoretical underpinnings can be tailored to the higher education context.

This book focuses on sustaining communities of practice in primary and secondary schools in Australia and internationally for the professional learning of all teachers, and particularly, early career teachers. Informed by the communities of practice research of Wenger-Trayner, it shows what factors are conductive to the sustainability of communities of practice, drawing particularly on a case study of an Australian regional secondary school, and explores how it has sustained support particularly for early career teachers over a three-year period. The first chapters of the book provide longitudinal perspectives using qualitative data and include perspectives from a variety of stakeholders, including the principal, the professional learning coordinator and the early career teachers who have experienced the school’s Communities of practice over three or more years. It offers practical suggestions on how to implement and improve communities of practice in schools and highlights the increasing importance of online communities to support early career teachers. Policy-makers, school principals, teacher educators and teaching practitioners find the book useful for implementing and sustaining communities of practice in schools. Subsequent chapters explore the value of online communities, such as Twitter communities; the role of collegial support networks in supporting early career teachers in Flemish primary education; and professional learning in Northern Ireland pre- and in-service teacher networked communities.

Bringing together the latest research among various communities of practice (disciplinary and place based as well as thematically organised), this volume reflects upon the knowledge, experience and practice gained through taking a unique community of practice approach to fostering gender equality in the sectors of research and innovation, and higher education in Europe and beyond. Based on research funded by the European Union, it considers how inter-organisational collaboration can foster change for gender equality through sharing of experiences of Gender Equality Plan implementation and examining the role of measures such as change-monitoring systems. As such, it will appeal to social scientists with interests in organisational change, the sociology of work and gender equality.

The Higher Education Learners’ Learning Outcomes (HELLO) project offers a comprehensive solution to the challenge of creating comparative metrics of learning outcomes that are valid across various cultures, languages, and higher education institution types. Traditional methods of assessing learning outcomes in higher education have limited institutions' abilities to compare student performance to that of their peers, hindering efforts to improve teaching practices and enhance student learning. This project creates learning outcome measures that are culturally and linguistically appropriate for different types of higher education institutions, enabling institutions to compare student performance to that of their peers as part of efforts to improve teaching practices and enhance student learning. Design and Implementation of Higher Education Learners’ Learning Outcomes (HELLO), edited by Kuntal Barua, Neyara Radwan Mohammed, Virendra Singh, and Ronnie Figueiredo, provides a persuasive account of the HELLO project and is intended for all students, teachers, administrations, and higher education institutions interested in improving teaching practices and enhancing student learning outcomes. The book presents the challenges in traditional methods of assessing learning outcomes, the limitations of diverse attempts to fill the quality information gap, and the rationale for HELLO beyond collegial approaches and student-centered learning. The book also explores key challenges in developing and executing HELLO, such as the risks of ranking and value-added methodologies. By offering a comprehensive overview of the HELLO project, this book provides higher education institutions with the information and motivation they need to participate in the project and enhance their students' learning outcomes.

This book aims to apply and expand upon the concept of the ‘Learning Conference’, which uses the paradigm and methodology of participatory action learning and action research (PALAR). It demonstrates how application of the Learning Conference concept can maximize learning opportunities and subsequently successful research outcomes through publication of conference papers, to help bring about sustainable professional, organizational and community development.

In this book about communities of practice in the international, higher education sector, the authors articulate the theoretical foundations of communities of practice (CoPs), research into their application in higher education, leadership roles and how CoPs sustain and support professional learning. Research demonstrates that communities of practice build professional and personal links both within and across faculty, student services and administrative and support units. This book describes how community of practice members may be physically co-located and how social media can be used to connect members across geographically diverse locations. It positions higher education communities of practice within the broader community of practice and social learning literature, and articulates the importance of community of practice leadership roles, and the growing focus on the use of social media for community of practice implementation. The multiple perspectives provide higher education leaders, academic and professional staff with the means to establish, or reflect on existing CoPs, by sharing insights and critical reflections on their implementation strategies, practical guidelines and ideas on how community of practice’s theoretical underpinnings can be tailored to the higher education context.

Writing comprises a significant proportion of academic staff members’ roles. While academics have been acculturated to the notion of ‘publish or perish,’ they often struggle to find the time to accomplish writing papers and tend to work alone. The result can be a sense of significant stress and isolation around the writing process. Writing partnerships, groups, and retreats help mitigate these challenges and provide significant positive writing experiences for their members. Critical Collaborative Communities describes diverse examples of partnerships from writing regularly with one or two colleagues to larger groups that meet for a single day, regular writing meetings, or a retreat over several days. While these approaches bring mutual support for members, each is not without its respective challenges. Each chapter outlines an approach to writing partnerships and interrogates its strengths and limitations as well as proposes recommendations for others hoping to implement the practice. Authors in this volume describe how they have built significant trusting relationships that have helped avoid isolation and have led to their self-authorship as academic writers.

English Studies Online: Programs, Practices, Possibilities represents a collection of essays by established teacher-scholars across English Studies who offer critical commentary on how they have worked to create and sustain high-impact online programs (majors, minors, certificates) and courses in the field. Ultimately, these chapters explore the programs and classroom practices that can help faculty across English Studies to think carefully and critically about the changes that online education affords us, the rich possibilities such courses and programs bring, and some potential problems they can introduce into our department and college ecologies. By highlighting both innovative pedagogies and hybrid methods, the authors in our collection demonstrate how we might engage these changes more productively. Divided into three interrelated conversations — practices, programs, and possibilities — the essays in this collection demonstrate some of the innovative pedagogical work going on in English departments around the United States in order to highlight how both hybrid and fully online programs in English Studies can help us to more meaningfully and purposefully enact the values of a liberal arts education. This collection serves as both a cautionary history of teaching practices and programs that have developed in English Studies and a space to support faculty and administrators in making the case for why and how humanities disciplines can be important contributors to digital teaching and learning. Contributors include Joanne Addison, William P. Banks, Lisa Beckelhimer, Dev K. Bose, Elizabeth Burrows, Amy Cicchino, Erin A. Frost, Heidi Skurat Harris, John Havard, Marcela Hebbard, Stephanie Hedge, Ashley J. Holmes, George Jensen, Karen Kuralt, Michele Griegel-McCord, Samantha McNeilly, Lilian Mina, Catrina Mitchum, Janine Morris, Michael Neal, Cynthia Nitz Ris, Rochelle Rodrigo, Cecilia Shelton, Susan Spangler, Katelyn Stark, Eric Sterling, and Richard C. Taylor.

This book explores heutagogy (self-determined learning) - a new approach to teaching and learning in higher education - and proposes a paradigm shift in teaching, learning, and the educational enterprise and ecosystem. The first part of the book presents the philosophical, psychological and sociological foundations of heutagogy, and describes lessons learned from prior experiences of its implementation. The second part presents a collaborative self-study of five heutagogy courses in higher education. The third discusses how the academic community can enhance the paradigm change, and compares heutagogy to similar academic approaches. The concluding chapter of the book explores the question of “what next”? and suggests some possible elaborations of heutagogy. “At the beginning, it was very difficult for me to appreciate the course’s mode of learning. All my life I had learned in a traditional manner. Occasionally I felt that I was being thrown into deep water without a lifeguard. ... But as the course progressed, I succeeded in letting go of my deeply rooted habits and discovered a new learning approach, through which I found in myself a new learner...” (Student’s reflection) “...this book suggests a novel approach to learning and education and will become a widely read one.” Dr. Lisa Marie Blaschke, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg

Transition and change are part of everyone’s life. In the context of higher education, there are multiple points where students will undergo transition. This includes the move from secondary and further education or elsewhere into higher education, where students move from school or college to university. As students near the completion of their studies, they must make decisions about career or further study options, which again necessitates transition. In addition, different cohorts of students such as those from a low socio-economic background, international students, and students facing additional barriers due to gender, ethnicity, or disability will face further transitions. Many students look forward to moving on and progressing with their studies and careers; however, transitions can be challenging, and enhanced support can ensure continued success for all. Perspectives on Enhancing Student Transition Into Higher Education and Beyond supports the various transitions that students entering higher education face throughout the entire learner journey. This book brings together best practice examples of how institutions have enhanced the support offered to address the transition challenges that students face throughout the learner journey before, through, and beyond the university environment. Covering topics such as collaborative teamwork, postgraduate education, and student engagement, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for faculty, administrators, professors, educational leaders, academic advisors, researchers, academicians, and more.