Jacquie McDonald

Creating and Facilitating Communities of Practice in Higher Education: Theory to Practice in a Regional Australian University

Communities of Practice (CoPs) have been operating successfully at Central Queensland University Australia (CQU) since 2009. The major purpose of this chapter is to use a scholarly reflection approach to share what we have learnt are the keys to creating, sustaining and facilitating CoPs within an Australian regional university. A second purpose of the chapter is to bridge the gap between the theory and practice of creating, sustaining and facilitating CoPs within a higher education setting. We highlight the importance of meeting the CoP members’ needs, of keeping the focus on the domain of the CoP, of engendering trust within the CoP, and when in the role of facilitator, sharing your passion for the domain through regular engagement with CoP members between CoP meetings. Critically within the higher education sector, we also highlight the importance of ‘managing up’ and engaging the senior leadership/management of the university to ensure the sustainability of CoPs. Finally, and based on our extensive experience as drivers of CoPs within regional universities, we share our Top 10 Tips to creating and facilitating CoPs within a higher education setting.

Leading at the Coal-Face: The World as Experienced by Subject Coordinators in Australian Higher Education.

This article is based on nationally funded research into the role, capabilities, challenges and professional development needs of subject coordinators in Australian higher education. The second of three data collection phases involved a multi-institutional survey of staff in the role of subject coordinator with the aim of understanding the role through the experiences of those who undertake it. In particular the conceptualization of this lowest level in academe as one of ‘leadership’, and as being the first rung on the academic leadership ladder, formed the underpinning logic for data collection. Results allow for a contemporary picture of leadership responsibilities to be drawn and also highlights some of the challenges which confront staff in this role. The vast majority of staff consider themselves as demonstrating leadership, although they have varying views about how others higher in the management hierarchy understand and appreciate their role. Most see themselves as performing effectively with the key challenges they face highlighted in the article. Outcomes suggest the need to undertake substantial capacity building of leadership for new and incumbent subject coordinators in response to the ever-changing nature of the higher education environment.

Faculty Learning Communities and Communities of Practice Dreamers, Schemers, and Seamers

The authors articulate the independent emergence of Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) in the United States and Communities of Practice (CoPs) in an Australian higher education setting. Based on 35 years of experience beginning with Miami University FLCs (Cox) and 10 years of experience starting with University of Southern Queensland CoPs (McDonald), the authors report what they see as the defining features of FLCs and CoPs as separate and then as hybrid models within their institutional, national and international contexts. Similarities and differences are outlined, with a discussion around why each approach evolved within the particular local and then national context. The chapter concludes with ideas about collaborative activities and practical adaptions of each approach to suit different higher education contexts and needs.

Sustaining the Momentum: A Cross-Institutional Community of Practice for Research Supervisors

Research supervision is an important learning and teaching issue in Higher Education Institutions. This paper reports on the history and outcomes of a community of practice that has been meeting since 2009 to improve the capability of research supervisors at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) Australia. The Community of Practice—Research Supervisors (CoP-RS) includes academic staff from all USQ Faculties and across all campuses. We describe the background that prompted the formation of the CoP-RS and then detail the activities undertaken to date. The outcomes and challenges are discussed with the view to identify critical success factors to ensure sustainability of the CoP. Conclusions are drawn and future research directions suggested.