Membership
Q. Who can join the Scholars Community?
A. Faculty and graduate students from across campus
are invited to join. While a majority of our members are from the College
of Engineering, we draw members from the College of Business, the College
of Natural Resources, the College of Agriculture, the College of Science,
and the College of Letters & Arts. We have also attracted participation
from various academic support services.
Q. What types of people join the Scholars Community?
A. Community members share a common interest in
improving student learning outcomes. They recognize that changes in
instruction toward this goal begin with personal investment in
professional development coupled with collegiality in implementing
necessary changes.
Q. What is the best way to find out about the Scholars
Community?
A. Make plans to attend a half-day workshop of
interest listed in the announcements box on the Scholars Community main
page. Alternatively, set up an appointment for coffee with one of the
community leaders—Steve Beyerlein (sbeyer@uidaho.edu)
or Don Elger (delger@uidaho.edu).
Benefits
Q. How is the Scholars Community different from a
Department?
A. The Scholars Community is united by an interest
in improving shared teaching and learning practices that translate well
across disciplinary boundaries. Because of their diverse disciplinary
backgrounds, members bring a much richer set of perspectives and talents
than is normally found in a single department.
Q. How does the Scholars Community benefit research?
A. Most of the peer-reviewed papers cited on the
Results page are collaborations between community members. Many research
questions investigated in these publications emerged from formal workshop
activities and most of the papers benefited from informal peer reviews
among community members.
Q. How does the Scholars Community benefit classroom
teaching?
A. The Scholars Community will make you more aware
of innovative teaching practices around campus and give you points of
contact for more information, mentoring possibilities, and collaboration
on classroom research. Engaging in one of our regular Peer Coaching
workshops is an effective way to begin making these connections, provide
feedback that helps others realize their teaching goals, and is certain to
stimulate reflective thinking about your own teaching.
Obligations
Q. How much time will I need to commit?
A. Three distinct levels of involvement are
encouraged and contribute to the vibrancy of our community. Some members
enjoy just attending occasional workshop activities as a means of staying
aware of best practices in teaching and learning. This typically involves
4-8 hours per semester. Others attend a majority of our formal workshops
and make efforts to adopt and refine classroom practices, asking for
occasional feedback on instructional materials and facilitation. This
typically involves 20-30 hours per semester. Finally, a few are actively
engaged in educational research about some aspect of classroom activity in
addition to elevating their teaching practice. This typically involves
40-50 hours per semester.
Q. What responsibilities would I have if I joined the
community?
A. As with any community, your responsibility is to
contribute your expertise. We are especially interested in having you
contribute your expertise as a research-based practitioner in a
teaching/learning area about which you are passionate. Different people
will have expertise in different areas, so the contributions will be
different for different people. That’s what makes the community exciting
and a source of professional development for all.
