Evaluating the Effectiveness of Faculty Inquiry Groups as Communities of Practice for Faculty Professional Development

Many faculty in higher education have little-to-no formal preparation in the process of instructional design and the use of technology for learning, especially in research-intensive contexts. As such, professional development opportunities that focus on these issues play an important role in supporting best practices in teaching and learning. Communities of practice in the form of faculty inquiry groups (FIGs) may provide an effective avenue for faculty to enhance their awareness and implementation of technology-enhanced instructional strategies. This article describes the design and development of a series of faculty inquiry groups at a Research I institution and provides results of a comprehensive evaluation of those groups.