Open AccessOvercoming Pedagogical Solitude: The Transformative Power of Discipline‐Specific Faculty Learning Communities
Author(s) -
Tovar Mariela,
Jukier Rosalie,
Ferris Jennie,
Cardoso Kristen
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
to improve the academy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2334-4822
DOI - 10.1002/tia2.20026
Subject(s) - transformative learning , solitude , power (physics) , pedagogy , sociology , psychology , engineering ethics , psychotherapist , engineering , physics , quantum mechanics
This article describes a multiyear Faculty Learning Community ( FLC ) program as a strategy to overcome pedagogical solitude (Shulman, 1993) in a discipline‐specific context. Participant interviews shed light on their FLC experiences and perceived impact on their teaching and students’ learning. Grounded within the particularities of the disciplinary context and based on the results of interviews reflecting a highly positive experience, key factors that had a major role in the success of the FLCs are articulated, framed within V. Lee, M. Hyman, and G. Luginbuhl's (2007) concept of readiness. The authors also suggest contextual questions to consider when transferring their experience to other institutional contexts.