A Collaborative Self-Study: Reflections on Convening a SoTL Community of Practice

Abstract

Communities of practice (CoPs) can provide opportunities for diverse and inclusive groups to convene, share, collaborate, and support others. Using a self-study research approach combined with a visual research method, this study explores both scholarly and practice-based insights to describe the anticipated attributes of a high functioning CoP for the support of collaborative engagement in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). The following nine emergent attributes are identified: 1) Structures; (2) Social environments; (3) Diversity; (4) Knowledge, learning and ideas; (5) Support; (6) Shared leadership; (7) Risk; (8) Results and impact; and (9) Growth over time. This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge related to the value of visual research methods in collaborative self-study. Moreover, the results of this self-study deepen understanding about the practice and role of convenors and organizers of a grass-roots, campus-wide SoTL CoP initiative.

Keywords

• communities of practice
• higher education
• social learning
• collaborative inquiry
• scholarship of teaching and learning
• self-study