Developing Scholarly Teaching at a Research University

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors explore how faculty learning communities that focus on teaching and student learning have been instrumental in transforming the perception of teaching as a “tax to be paid” into an engaging scholarly activity. Faculty engagement in learning communities devoted to teaching and learning facilitates the development of new knowledge and insights into teaching and student learning as well as new perceptions regarding the roles of teaching in the faculty’s professional career. Using a case study approach, the authors describe various examples of learning communities at the University of Maryland that have transformed perceptions about teaching.