FRC Resources

Many students discover that the skills required to complete high school course content are poorly aligned with the academic skills required by faculty in first-year courses. Similar disconnects exist between their expectations at home or work and the college classroom. Faculty are particularly instrumental in influencing students' sense of belonging and helping them navigate the disconnect between their expectations and the realities of college coursework. To support student success and retention, we are gathering a group of faculty to participate in a community of practice focused on identifying and implementing strategies that support students' transition into the college classroom. (Bettinger et al., 2013; Boroch & Hope, 2009; Smith and Zhang, 2008; Venezia and Jaeger, 2013)

Purpose

This program aims to increase awareness and utilization of instructional practices that support student completion and persistence by equipping students with the skills and resources they need to successfully transition into the college classroom.

Learning Activities

The program is designed to support the learning autonomy of the participants. Participants are provided a learning framework that includes resources to build foundational knowledge, along with expectations to actively participate in learning activities and share what they have learned outside of the CLP group. Within that framework, participants will organize and drive their own learning by determining what topics to pursue, organizing their own learning activities, and determining the best ways to share their knowledge with the campus community.

References

Bettinger, E. P., Boatman, A., & Long, B. T. (2013). "Student supports: Developmental education and other academic programs." The Future of Children, 23(1), 93–115. https://doi.org/10.1353/foc.2013.0003

Boroch, D., & Hope, L. (2009). "Effective Practices for Promoting the Transition of High School Students to College: A Review of Literature with Implications for California Community College Practitioners." In Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED519286

Smith, W. L., & Zhang, P. (2008). "Perceived factors facilitating students’ transition from high school to college." Michigan Sociological Review, 22, 19–40.

Venezia, A., & Jaeger, L. (2013). "Transitions from high school to college." The Future of Children, 23(1), 117–136.

Wenger, E., McDermott, R. A., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice: A guide to managing knowledge. Harvard Business School Press.

Although many of the CLPs learning activities are open to the campus community, a diverse group of faculty have committed to identifying, implementing, and sharing strategies that support students' transition and success in the college classroom.

CLP Coordinator

Dr. Lori Hughes, English & FRC Faculty Fellow

Lori will facilitate the CLP's activities and support campus-wide knowledge sharing.

Division Participants

Division participants will coordinate learning activities and facilitate knowledge sharing within the divisions. In addition to actively contributing to the group's learning, all participants will also apply what they have learned in the classroom.

Contact the CLP coordinator or division participants to find out more about getting involved with the CLP's learning activities.

Caring for Our Students and Ourselves: Fostering Engagement, Belonging, and Well-Being in the Community College Classroom

11/6/2024 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Dana Morales & Naomi Fernandez | Virtual Session

Online Faculty Roundtable: "Six Intrinsic Motivators to Power Up Your Teaching"

P11/12/2024 | 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. | David Pyle & Lori Hughes | Virtual Session

The strategies and resources identified by CLP participants will be shared here. If you would like to suggest a resource, email us at MC-FRC@lonestar.edu

A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who share a common interest and work together to expand their knowledge and understanding in relation to that interest. The core elements of a community of practice are a domain of interest, a community of people connected through activities that facilitate the exchange of knowledge, and the application of that knowledge through practice. CoPs bring together individuals with expertise and/or a shared interest to address a specific challenge or to achieve targeted outcomes. (Wenger et al., 2002)

CoPs have been used in various higher education contexts to increase faculty awareness and utilization of effective instructional practice and foster broader institutional change over time through the diffusion of knowledge, which has resulted in improved student success outcomes, including student retention. (Bulancea et al., 2021; Eddy et al., 2022; Hoyert & O’Dell, 2019; Stark & Smith, 2016)

References

Bulancea, G., Granfield, P., Jauchen, J., Love, J., Nelson, M., Sachs, R., & Sausville, C. (2021). "A Community of grassroots leaders: Leveraging faculty networks to create change." PRIMUS, 31(3–5), 627–642. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2021.1882016

Eddy, P. L., Hao, Y., Iverson, E., & Macdonald, R. H. (2022). "Fostering communities of practice among community college science faculty." Community College Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521221111474

Hoyert, M. S., & O’Dell, C. D. (2019). "Developing faculty communities of practice to expand the use of effective pedagogical techniques." Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 19(1), 80–85.

Stark, A. M., & Smith, G. A. (2016). "Communities of practice as agents of future faculty development." The Journal of Faculty Development, 30(2), 59–67.

Wenger, E., McDermott, R. A., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice: A guide to managing knowledge. Harvard Business School Press.

If you are interested in participating in the CLP program, please contact us at MC-FRC@lonestar.edu