Faculty Learning Community (FLC)
What is a Faculty Learning Community?
A Faculty Learning Community (FLC) is a cross-disciplinary, small group of scholars who are interested in investigating and sharing resources on a particular theme in higher education. As a structured community of practice, each FLC will set shared, topic-specific goals for the academic year.
FLC Deliverables
One objective of the FLC should be to create either a shared or individualized deliverable. FLC scholars may choose to individually submit a conference proposal or an academic publication. The FLC as a group may also choose to collaborate on a shared deliverable such as a website, a co-created conference proposal or publication, or a set of instructional resources (e.g., a themed module, a collection of classroom activities that target a particular topic/objective). Central to the deliverable is the support and feedback of the members of the FLC and the intent to share the resource across the University.
2023-2024 FLC Themes
- Reinventing Student Engagement
- What's the Next Step? Lab FLC
- STEM Education
- Open Source Resources
Previous FLC Themes
- Post-Covid Learning Rescue: Meeting Our Students Where They Are
- What's the Next Step? Lab Instructor Assignment Toolkit
- STEM Education Interest Group | Focus on Inclusive Pedagogy
- Pedagogy of the Soul
- Team-Based Learning
- How Learning Works (Ambrose et al., 2010)
- Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
How to join a Faculty Learning Community
Each year, the Innovation in Learning center will send a call for participation in a series of Faculty Learning Communities. You can join this year鈥檚 Faculty Learning Communities by completing this form:
| Applications paused for this year |
If you are interested in joining an FLC, please email ilc@southalabama.edu.
Each FLC will set a meeting schedule which usually includes meeting one to two times per month during the fall and spring semesters. To fully participate in the FLC, you are expected to attend the majority of the meetings.
How to propose a topic for a future Faculty Learning Community
The Innovation in Learning Center is always looking for innovative and timely FLC topics! Please send your topic ideas to Dr. Lisa LaCross.
Looking for more information about Faculty Learning Communities?
Developed by Milton Cox, Ph.D., at Miami University of Ohio in 1979, faculty learning communities 鈥渃reate connections for isolated teachers, establish networks for those pursuing pedagogical issues, meet early-career faculty expectations for community, foster multidisciplinary curricula, and begin to bring community to higher education鈥� (Cox, 2004: 5).
Milton Cox has written extensively about the impact and importance of faculty learning communities: check out several selected publications below or .
Cox, M. D. (2002). Achieving teaching and learning excellence through faculty learning communities. Essays on Teaching Excellence: Toward the Best in the Academy, 14(4).
Cox, M. D. (2002). The role of community in learning: Making connections for your classroom and campus, your students and colleagues. Teaching and learning in college: A resource for educators, 4, 1-38.
Cox, M. D. (2004). Introduction to faculty learning communities. New directions for teaching and learning, 2004(97), 5-23.