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Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment
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Faculty Learning Communities
Submit your fall 2023 FLCs proposal by Friday, April 4 at 5 p.m. Eastern.
Submit a Proposal

Faculty Learning Communities

Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) provide an opportunity for OHIO instructors to collaborate with their peers to explore a topic of interest related to teaching and learning.

Most FLCs include faculty from different disciplines, which helps to foster discussion that includes a broad range of backgrounds and experiences. Learning communities typically meet for a semester or a year, and participants work toward completing goals related to the community topic.

FLC program outcomes include:

  • Contribute to building a University-wide community committed to teaching excellence
  • Increase faculty interest teaching, learning and assessment
  • Foster scholarly teaching and instructional strategies supporting student academic success
  • Expand ways to evaluation of teaching and assessment of learning
  • Increase faculty collaboration across disciplines
  • Encourage reflection on teaching practice

Learn more about FLCs

What Are FLCs? | Deliverables | Facilitating a FLC | Recommendations for Facilitators | Proposing a FLC | Past Topics

Current Faculty Learning Communities

  • ChatGPT and AI: Implications for Teaching and Learning

    This "pop up" FLC is offered in direct response to faculty requests for opportunities to engage around the topic. The FLC brings together instructors interested in exploring in how ChatGPT and AI impact what happens in the classroom and other Ohio University learning contexts.

    The FLC opened in February.

  • Digital Games-based Learning for Experiential Education

    This FLC seeks to assist faculty to incorporate video games and digital game-based learning into their teaching practice. The goal is to engage participants in an exploration of why video games are underrepresented in classroom practice while being one of the dominant media past times of our students — second in time spent only to streaming video. Participants engage with video games as both text in hands-on activities, as well as theoretically to understand video games as a literacy.

    This FLC is at full capacity. Participants will share out practices and findings in May 2023 through CTLA's digital teaching resources page.

More Information About Faculty Learning Communities

Eager to learn more about FLCs? This section provides in-depth information about FLCs, including: what it's like to participate, who can facilitate or lead an FLC and facilitator responsibilities, how to propose a FLC, possible deliverables, recommendations for facilitators and past FLCs.

What Are Faculty Learning Communities?

A Center for Teaching, Learning and Assessment (CTLA) Faculty Learning Community (FLC) comprises a small-group of instructors who investigate and provide solutions for just about any teaching, learning and assessment problem or opportunity.  

FLCs can be organized by cohort or topic. Cohort FLCs address teaching, learning, and assessment development specific to a cohort of instructors. For example, those teaching in STEM disciplines, Graduate Student Instructors or faculty teaching large-enrollment courses. Topic-based FLCs focus on a theme like game-based learning, teaching with a global perspective or implementing reflective practice.

FLCs generally comprise eight to 12 instructors. FLCs meet synchronously (face-to-face or online) a minimum of four sessions over a semester and engage in activities and topical conversations.

FLC facilitators work with participants to determine the meeting schedule and help set the group’s goals. Previous OHIO FLCs have focused on topics such as teaching challenges, Team-Based Learning strategies and global perspectives in diverse classrooms.

Possible Deliverables Following FLC Participation

The CTLA asks FLC members share their findings with the OHIO community and/or at conferences.

The following are possible deliverables:

  • Development of a CTLA digital resource page
  • A LMS module
  • Blog posts
  • Podcast episode(s)
  • Conference presentation (Spotlight on Learning, symposia, etc.)

Who Can Facilitate or Lead a FLC and What Are the Responsibilities?

Full-time faculty (instructional, tenure-track and clinical), as well as staff dedicated to leading instructional support and with pedagogical expertise related to teaching, learning and/or assessment may serve as facilitators. Small stipends are available for facilitators and completing participants.

Facilitators are responsible for:

  • Identifying resources (texts, articles, digital materials, etc.) to support the FLC
  • Setting FLC meeting dates, times and locations/modalities
  • Establishing agendas and activities for each FLC meeting (a minimum of 4)
  • Sending meeting reminders and updates to participants and tracking participation
  • Working with the CTLA Associate Director for Faculty Programming to identify assessment and evaluation processes and collect artifacts or reflections from FLC members
  • Working with the CTLA Associate Director for Faculty Programming to submit a final FLC report to the CTLA

Recommendations for FLC Facilitators

The CTLA offers recommendations to ensure FLCs offer a meaningful experience for participants and facilitators:

  • Limit your FLC to 12. Members may be faculty, staff and administrators.
  • Make FLC membership voluntary; develop an interest form with the CTLA Associate Director for Faculty Programming.
  • Consider bringing in OHIO expert resources in the form of FLC affiliates. Affiliates may include librarians, technologists and consultants who can attend meetings at the group's invite.
  • Select applicants for diverse FLC membership: Consider each candidate's campus role, rank, experience and whether they have a multidisciplinary background. Three reasons for these considerations: participant curiosity, robust innovations and broadened perspectives.
  • Schedule the FLC for one semester with a second semester possible for deeper dives and/or exploration. Identify meeting times before the first meeting using a meeting platform or Outlook, as well as teaching schedules, to guide selection.  
  • Build in community building activities and ways for FLC members to socialize at each meeting.  
  • Allow members, with the facilitator, to refine outcomes, meeting topics and procedures.
  • Focus on obtaining and maintaining FLC member commitment. Plan productive meetings. Note progress made, outcomes to be achieved, and deliverable dates if applicable.
  • Consider assessing 3 areas of the FLC's impact: member development, student learning and/or effectiveness of the FLC's innovation, and value of FLC approaches engaged.
  • Focus on evidence-based, scholarly approaches.

Proposing a FLC

CTLA encourages instructors and staff with instructional expertise to consider developing and leading an FLC. Those facilitators are encouraged to think creatively and to determine the best approaches to meeting goals and outcomes identified for the FLC.

CTLA accepts FLC proposals on an ongoing basis, but review deadlines are set each fall and spring. CTLA offers small stipends for facilitators and up to 12 participants and is also able to provide some administrative and communications support.

FLC Proposal

To propose a FLC, complete the online form. In the form, you will be asked to to complete and submit information related to your proposed FLC topic:

  • Proposed FLC Title: We recommend a name that clearly indicates theme and may create interest in the learning community.
  • FLC Short Description: A summary of the proposed FLC’s overarching goal, content, format, focus, and/or purpose. (Maximum 250 words.)  
  • Anticipated FLC Outcomes: What do you want the faculty to know, be able to do and/or value as a result of their participation in the FLC? (5 maximum)  
  • Delivery modality
  • FLC Session Descriptions: Briefly describe the focus of and activities associated with each planned session (4 required). We understand that the design may be revised during further development of the FLC. 
  • FLC Materials: List specific reference materials (e.g., book titles, journal article references, videos, guest speakers) you will or may use to design or deliver the FLC. We understand this list may change as your planning progresses.
  • Assessment: Describe how you plan to assess the impact or effectiveness of this FLC? How will you know the goal and outcomes have been met? (250 words maximum)

Submit a Proposal

Past FLCs

To help you gain a better understanding of FLC topics and potentially inspire the creation of new FLCs, explore previous FLC topics and their descriptions.

  • Facilitating Student Career Development – This FLC helped faculty identify opportunities for enhancing confidence and skills in leading career-related conversations with students in any discipline. Participants identified strategies to engage students in career planning and career development discussions both in and out of the classroom. (Year: 2020)
  • Teaching with a Global Perspective – This interdisciplinary FLC focused on how to better create classroom environments and learning experiences that help students become global citizens. The group explored and addressed issues encountered when assessing and redeveloping a course from a global perspective. (Year: 2019)
  • Large-Enrollment Course FLC – This FLC focused on supporting instructors who taught courses with high enrollment — either one or more sections of the same course with a total enrollment of 100 or more students in one term. (Year: 2018)
  • Reflective Practice FLC – In this FLC, faculty reflected on their teaching and learning practices and scholarship. Their theme was: “How do faculty create a more engaging classroom for today’s university students? (Year: 2017)

  • Start a FLC

    The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment is currently accepting FLC proposals.

    The deadline to submit a proposal for fall 2023 FLCs has passed. You may submit a proposal for the spring 2024 cohort.

    Submit a proposal via the online form. For those who may wish to download and print the application to facilitate proposal development prior to completing the online form, download the printable proposal copy.

    Submit a Proposal

  • FLC Questions

    Have questions about FLCs or need more information about participating, facilitating or submitting a proposal? Send an email to the CTLA.

    Email CTLA