Strengthening Faculty Engagement and Partnerships through a Community of Practice
Document Type
Article - Open Access
Publication Title
Proceedings of the International USR Summit 2022
Publication Date
2023
Meeting Name
International USR Summit
Meeting Date
16-18 November 2022
Abstract/ Summary
The COVID-19 disrupted teaching and learning practices in higher education institutions across the world, it also had a particularly complex impact on community engagement. Community-engaged faculty and staff were tasked with identifying alternatives for students to support communities and make meaning of those experiences, sometimes without actually entering these communities. A virtual community of practice (CoP) supported seven faculty and staff members of diverse higher education institutions in planning for, implementing and processing the transformation of communityengaged teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the proper representation of diverse institutions, the group benefited from learning about various practices and strategies to support students and faculty members in community engagement during the pandemic.
The CoP was organised through Campus Compact and involved faculty and staff members from six institutions based in the US and one in South Africa. The focus of this group was on supporting faculty members in their community engagement work. These scholars came together for six 90-minute Zoom sessions from February to April 2021 for roughly one year into the ongoing pandemic. This learning community provided a space to reflect on the impacts of the coronavirus on the community engagement work taking place on our campuses and in our communities. This paper examines the process by which communities of practice were utilised to strengthen community engagement work and points to new directions for the field based on lessons learned from the pandemic. Furthermore, this study demonstrates how this CoP has resulted in new partnerships and initiatives that provide enhanced opportunities for students as well as an expanded vision for the practice of higher education community engagement.
Repository Citation
Falk, Audrey F., Brenton, Barrett, & Jordaan, Martina. “Strengthening Faculty Engagement and Partnerships through a Community of Practice.” Proceedings of the International USR Summit 2022, 2023, pp. 41–47.