In this book about communities of practice in the international, higher education sector, the authors articulate the theoretical foundations of communities of practice (CoPs), research into their application in higher education, leadership roles and how CoPs sustain and support professional learning. Research demonstrates that communities of practice build professional and personal links both within and across faculty, student services and administrative and support units. This book describes how community of practice members may be physically co-located and how social media can be used to connect members across geographically diverse locations. It positions higher education communities of practice within the broader community of practice and social learning literature, and articulates the importance of community of practice leadership roles, and the growing focus on the use of social media for community of practice implementation. The multiple perspectives provide higher education leaders, academic and professional staff with the means to establish, or reflect on existing CoPs, by sharing insights and critical reflections on their implementation strategies, practical guidelines and ideas on how community of practice’s theoretical underpinnings can be tailored to the higher education context.

In this edited collection, the authors pick up the communities of practice (CoP) approach of sharing practice in their reflection on the experience of taking their CoP vision from a dream to reality. Their stories articulate the vision, the passion and the challenge of working within and/or changing existing institutional culture and practice. The book discusses strategies that worked and considers the lessons learnt to inspire future dreamers and schemers. The multiple perspectives provided in the case studies will assist higher education leaders, as well as academic and professional staff, in establishing or assessing CoPs. The book offers insights into implementation strategies, practical guidelines and ideas on how CoP theoretical underpinnings can be tailored to the higher education context.

This book showcases pedagogical tools for learning languages through interdisciplinary project-based learning (PBL). Chapters demonstrate a diverse range of PBL activities that help students build communities of practice within classroom settings, and across local and global communities. Too often, learning a language can become a static endeavor, confined to a classroom and a singular discipline. But language is dynamic and fluid no matter the setting in which learning takes place. In acknowledging this, this volume explores how PBL and community-engagement pedagogies serve to combine learning goals and community service in ways that enhance student growth and facilitate second language development in an interdisciplinary, multilingual, and multicultural higher education learning environment. Chapters touch on activities and approaches including spoken-word poetry, environmental projects, social activism, study abroad, and in-service learning. This book will be of interest to researchers, academics, and postgraduate students in the fields of language education, second language acquisition, higher education, and comparative and international education.

Connecting with other people, finding a sense of belonging and the need for support are natural human desires. Employees who don't feel supported at work don't stay around for long - or if they do, they quickly become unmotivated and unhappy. At a time when organisational structures are flattening and workforces are increasingly fluid, supporting and connecting people is more important than ever. This is where organisational communities of practice come in. Communities of practice have many valuable benefits. They include accelerating professional development; breaking down organisational silos; enabling knowledge sharing and management; building better practice; helping to hire and retain staff; and making people happier. In this book, Emily Webber shares her learning from personal experiences of building successful communities of practice within organisations. And along the way, she gives practical guidance on creating your own.

While online learning was an existing practice, the COVID-19 pandemic greatly accelerated its capabilities and forced educational organizations to swiftly introduce online learning for all units. Though schools will not always be faced with forced online learning, it is apparent that there are clear advantages and disadvantages to this teaching method, with its usage in the future cemented. As such, it is imperative that methods for measuring and assessing the effectiveness of online and blended learning are examined in order to improve outcomes and future practices. Measurement Methodologies to Assess the Effectiveness of Global Online Learning aims to assess the effectiveness of online teaching and learning in normal and pandemic situations by addressing challenges and opportunities of adoption of online platforms as well as effective learning strategies, investigating the best pedagogical practices in digital learning, questioning how to improve student motivation and performance, and managing and measuring academic workloads online. Covering a wide range of topics such as the future of education and digital literacy, it is ideal for teachers, instructional designers, curriculum developers, educational software developers, academics, researchers, and students.

Changing our colleges and universities into learning institutions has become increasingly important at the same time it has become more difficult. Faculty learning communities have proven to be effective for addressing institutional challenges, from preparing the faculty of the future and reinvigorating senior faculty, to implementing new courses, curricula, and campus initiatives on diversity and technology. The results of faculty learning community programs parallel for faculty members the results of student learning communities for students, such as retention, deeper learning, respect for other cultures, and greater civic participation. The chapters in this issue of New Directions for Teaching and Learning describe from a practitioner's perspective the history, development, implementation, and results of faculty learning communities across a wide range of institutions and purposes. Institutions are invited to use this volume to initiate faculty learning communities on their campuses. This is the 97th issue of the quarterly journal New Directions for Teaching and Learning.

Most would agree that a learning community of practice cultivates social and intellectual development in educational settings but what are the other benefits and what does a learning community actually look like in practice? This book explores such questions as: “Are learning communities essential in education?” “How are they designed and developed?” “What difference do they make in learning?” The book contains contributions of educators who share their research and practice in designing and implementing learning communities in school, university, and professional network settings. It presents their experiences, and the “how to” of these educators who are passionate about building and sustaining learning communities to make a real difference for students, teachers, faculty, and communities. Combining scholarly and practitioner research, the book offers practical information to teachers, school and university administrators, teacher educators, and community educators.