2016-17
FACULTY LEARNING
COMMUNITY GRANTS
FLC Grant Guidance
May 2016
SBCTC eLearning & Open Education
SBCTC Assessment, Teaching & Learning
1300 Quince Street SE | P.O. Box 42495
Olympia, WA 98504-2495
360-704-4400
www.sbctc.edu
This grant guidance by WA SBCTC is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Table of Contents
APPLICATIONS ................................................................................................................................................3
TRAINING .........................................................................................................................................................3
WHAT IS A FACULTY LEARNING COMMUNITY? ..............................................................................4
FLC MEMBERSHIP............................................................................................................................................5
GRANT EXPECTATIONS .............................................................................................................................6
ALLOCATING GRANT FUNDS..................................................................................................................7
CREATING AND SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION ......................................................................7
FOR MORE INFORMATION ........................................................................................................................8
Appendix A:
APPLICATION QUESTIONS ........................................................................................................................9
Appendix B:
EVALUATION CRITERIA AND RUBRIC ............................................................................................... 11
Appendix C:
LIFECYCLE OF A HEALTHY FACULTY LEARNING COMMUNITY ............................................. 14
Appendix D:
BEYOND “UNDERSTAND”: WRITING (TRULY) MEASURABLE OUTCOMES ........................ 15
2016-2017 | Faculty Learning Community Grant Guidance
2
Important Dates
APPLICATIONS
Application Opens in OGMS: Thursday, April 28th, 2016
OGMS Application Deadline: Thursday, May 26th, 2016
Application Forms: Applications will be accepted through the SBCTC Online Grant
Management System (OGMS).
o Please contact your campus OGMS security administrator for a login, password, and
permissions for this grant.
o Log in to OGMS
Grant Awards Announced: Thursday, June 16th, 2016
FLCs Begin Work: Any time after July 1st, 2016
TRAINING
Application Process Webinar: Tuesday, April 12th, 2016 from 3:30 – 5:00 PM
Alissa Sells, Program Administrator for eLearning & Open Education; Jennifer Whetham,
Program Administrator for Faculty Development; and Michele Rockwell, Contract Specialist;
will guide participants through the application documents and answer participant questions.
This webinar will be recorded and posted to the FLC webpage and to the ATL blog.
o Log in to the Webinar
Faculty Grant Writing Workshop: Friday, April 29th, 2016
This full-day workshop will guide faculty teams of 2-3 through a backwards design process of a
potential FLC, including:
o Writing learning outcomes for participants
o Discerning guiding inquiry questions
o Brainstorming deliverables
o Creating a meaningful budget
o Fostering alignment with system initiatives
In addition to getting guided writing and invention time to work on the application, faculty
teams will have opportunities to give and receive feedback in ways that will strengthen their
applications for these highly competitive grants.
2016-2017 | Faculty Learning Community Grant Guidance
3
Assessment, Teaching, and Learning Conference Session: Friday, May 6th, 2016
In addition to providing an overview of the formative application process for the Faculty
Learning Community (FLC) Grants, this interactive ATL Conference session will guide
participants in the initial steps to plan and develop a successful FLC. After brainstorming
potential FLC topics and guiding inquiry questions, participants will begin to collaboratively draft
FLC goals (short and long-term) and measurable learning outcomes for FLC participants.
Mandatory Fall Facilitator Retreat for Funded FLCs: September 8th – 9th, 2016
This two day retreat will provide FLC facilitators an opportunity to network with other FLC
facilitators and share practical strategies. While the retreat agenda will be designed based on
attendees’ knowledge and skills, some concepts that may be covered include the difference
between an FLC and committee/task force, Tuckman’s stages of group development (with a
focus on successfully navigating the move from “forming” to “storming”, strategies for
facilitating mindful dialogue and staying with tensions, effective use of protocols and icebreakers, and cultivating leadership skills in key areas (collaboration, communication, working
with adult learners, knowledge of content and pedagogy, and systems thinking).
Mandatory Winter Facilitator Retreat for Funded FLCs: February 3rd, 2016
This one day retreat will provide FLC facilitators an opportunity to network with other FLC
facilitators and share practical strategies at a key point in their group’s development –
successfully transitioning from “storming” to “(re)norming” . . . with an eye towards moving to
“performing.” While specific topics will be based on the attendee’s stated needs and requests
based on their FLC progress, topics may include collaborative problem solving, artifact creation,
and dissemination.
About FLC Grants
To support system-wide professional learning related to instruction and innovation, the
Assessment, Teaching, and Learning (ATL) and eLearning and Open Education departments of
the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) invite faculty,
staff, and administrators to apply for grants of up to $5,000 to fund Faculty Learning
Communities (FLCs) for the academic year of 2016-2017.
Faculty, staff, and administrators from any of the 34 Washington State community and technical
colleges (CTCs) may propose an FLC. Faculty applicants may be full- or part-time from any
instructional area represented in the system. Washington CTC administrators and staff who
teach, tutor, support, or serve students in any instructional capacity may also apply.
WHAT IS A FACULTY LEARNING COMMUNITY?
A faculty learning community (FLC) is a group of educators (faculty, administrators, professional
staff) who collaboratively design and then implement a structured, intensive, year-long
professional learning experience for its members. Together, the community builds a curriculum
2016-2017 | Faculty Learning Community Grant Guidance
4
of study that engages complex problems and focuses around the members’ individual and
collective teaching and learning.
FLCs, according to Miami University’s article “What is a Faculty and Professional Learning
Community?” not only “include the efficiency of getting things done” but also “focus on the
social aspects of building community.” FLCs also “provide safety and support for faculty to
investigate, attempt, assess, and adopt new (to them) methods.” Through “develop[ing]
empathy among members . . . and its own culture, openness, and trust,” FLCs “energize and
empower participants; have the potential of transforming institutions into learning
organizations; and are holistic in approach.”
An FLC can be topic-based or cohort-based. While the list of previous topic-based FLCs
SBCTC has funded is vast, here are a few examples: Reading in the Digital Age, Open
Educational Resources (OER), Becoming Culturally Responsive Educators, Sustainability,
Reading Apprenticeship, The Courage to Teach, Cooperative Learning, and Universal Design.
A cohort-based FLC might explore “the teaching, learning, and developmental needs of an
important cohort of faculty or staff that has been particularly affected by isolation,
fragmentation, stress, neglect, or chilly climate” (“What is a Faculty and Professional Learning
Community?”). Previous topic-based FLCs SBCTC has funded include adjunct faculty, midcareer and senior faculty, and department chairs.
While an FLC may focus strictly on building a campus-based or department-based cohort of
colleagues committed to an area of common professional learning, SBCTC encourages
applications from multiple colleges as a way of strengthening cross-campus collaboration.
Multiple grants may be awarded to an individual institution to strengthen multiple FLCs.
FLC MEMBERSHIP
While the long established program at Miami University has shown a group of 8 to 12 is ideal,
FLC membership can range from 6 to 15 members or more.
In addition to faculty, administrators, and staff from the Washington State CTC system, SBCTC
encourages partnerships to advance learning community work. We urge you to create as
diverse a group of learners as possible, including, but not limited to, the following:
o Librarians, counselors, information technology staff, and others who teach, tutor,
support, or serve students.
o Business or industry advisory committee members, research centers, and not-for profit
agencies.
o Community members who would deepen the exploration of the FLC topic, as well as
colleagues who work at other public agencies.
o Faculty and staff from local high schools, out-of-state community colleges, in-state and
out-of-state four-year institutions and universities.
2016-2017 | Faculty Learning Community Grant Guidance
5
GRANT EXPECTATIONS
1. Learn Together
The primary goal of the FLC is to give educators time and space for professional learning
that will deepen their individual and collective teaching practices in ways that foster student
learning. Therefore, each FLC should include specific, measurable, and observable
participant outcomes that drive all grant activities and budget expenditures.
2. Create Digital Artifacts
Each FLC must develop digital artifacts that connect to the FLC outcomes and that will
serve as resources to other educators. Digital artifacts may include, but are not limited to,
the following: Canvas shells, websites, project planning documents, insight papers,
audio/video/multimedia, learning objects of all kinds, policy documents, partnership
agreements, modules, rubrics, student assessments, surveys, data analysis, and online
courses or programs.
3. Release Openly
Work produced by the FLCs falls under the SBCTC Open Licensing Policy: beginning July
1st, 2010, all educational resources, and knowledge produced through competitive grants
offered through or managed by SBCTC must carry Creative Commons CC BY licenses.
We recommend at least one member of the FLC take the fully online asynchronous Open
Educational Resources (OER) Training offered monthly by SBCTC eLearning staff.
4. Share FLC Learning
Each FLC must show how it will disseminate its knowledge, expertise, and experience to its
home institution(s) – as well as the larger assessment, teaching, and learning (ATL) and
eLearning communities. Dissemination may take the form of, but is not limited to, the
following:
o Presentation at the 2017 Assessment, Teaching, and Learning (ATL) Conference
(May 2017) in Spokane, Washington
o Presentation at the Northwest eLearning conference or the 2017 Washington State
Annual Canvas Conference (WACC)
o Working with SBCTC ATL Program Administrator to plan, facilitate, present, and
participate in statewide events such as
o
Fall 2016 or Winter 2017 ATL retreats
o
Winter-Spring 2017 IGNIS Webinar Series
o
Train-the-trainer workshops or one-day drive-in events
2016-2017 | Faculty Learning Community Grant Guidance
6
ALLOCATING GRANT FUNDS
FLC funds should address significant areas of professional learning related to instruction. The
proposed budget items should clearly align with the FLC goals and outcomes.
Examples of possible uses of funds include, but are not limited to, the following: travel,
conference fees, stipends for subject matter or pedagogy experts to speak to or consult with
FLC members, retreats, conferences, or other experiences necessary for the success of the
FLC. Resources include, but are not limited to, the following: professional association
memberships, books, subscriptions to publications, or other resources necessary for the
success of the FLC.
Research from the 2012 Faculty Learning Communities Evaluation shows that successful FLCs
allow time and resources for participants to get comfortable working with each other – see
Lifecycle of a Healthy FLC, tip 4 (Appendix C). Therefore, food for face-to-face meetings is
appropriate, as are other incentives for organizers and participants (tip 6) that adhere to state
purchasing and accounting rules. Please read the 2016-17 Faculty Learning Communities Fiscal
Guidelines & Grant Terms document and consult your college’s business office for more details.
Using Grant Funds for Facilitator Stipends
Funds may be used to provide ONE stipend to the FLC facilitator who organizes and facilitates
the FLC meeting and activities. As the FLC grants are modest, the balance of this expense with
the overall investment in professional learning for the group will be a consideration in the
proposal review and selection process.
Purchase Requests and Receipts for Facilitators
FLC facilitators must work closely with their college business or grants offices prior to
submitting an application and then again before making any purchases in support of this grant.
Business and grants office staff will provide FLC facilitators with college-specific processes and
procedures for making purchases and receiving reimbursements. Colleges must pay invoices
and reimburse individual college staff and faculty before invoicing SBCTC. FLC facilitators must
also work closely with their business and/or grants offices to determine which college faculty or
staff will be responsible for invoicing SBCTC for the grant.
CREATING AND SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION
o Review the Evaluation Criteria and Rubric (Appendix B) the selection committee will use
to make funding decisions.
o Answer the Application Questions (Appendix A).
o
We recommend that you gather as many members of your FLC together as
possible to help generate ideas and potential answers to the application
questions.
2016-2017 | Faculty Learning Community Grant Guidance
7
When you are ready to submit your application, you will use the Online Grant Management
System (OGMS). The Faculty Learning Communities Task Force (FLCTF) created these
documents in response to the 12 “tips” for developing and sustaining an FLC in Lifecycle of a
Healthy FLC (Appendix C) based on the Faculty Learning Communities Evaluation conducted in
2012.
OGMS Users’ Manual
Please read the user-friendly OGMS User’s Manual for screenshots and explanations of all
aspects of OGMS.
Composing Your Draft Application in Word
OGMS User Guidance for Composing Narrative Responses provides guidance on using Word
to compose your responses to the application questions to simplify submitting your application
in OGMS.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Questions about Accessing OGMS
Ask your college OGMS security administrator. Please note that you must get access from
your college security administrator each fiscal year.
Questions about Using OGMS
Contact Gabby Hagan, Program Assistant, SBCTC at ghagan@sbctc.edu or at 360-704-1021.
Questions about Grant Application or Selection Process
ATL: Contact Jennifer Whetham, Program Administrator for Faculty Development, SBCTC at
jwhetham@sbctc.edu.
eLearning: Contact Alissa Sells, Program Administrator for eLearning and Open Education,
SBCTC at asells@sbctc.edu.
Questions about Budget Considerations
Contact Michele Rockwell, Contracts Specialist, SBCTC at mrockwell@sbctc.edu or at 360704-4343.
2016-2017 | Faculty Learning Community Grant Guidance
8
Appendix A
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
2016-17 FACULTY LEARNING COMMUNITY
Section One: Basic Information
a. Name the FLC facilitator. Include job title, e-mail address, and phone number.
b. Name the co-facilitator or one additional contact person. Include job title, e-mail
address, and phone number.
c. List the initial members of the FLC. Include name, job title, and institution for each.
d. What is the proposed area of study FLC members will explore during the 2016-17
academic year (a.k.a. a concept or a topic you plan to learn about together)?
e. Which of the two categories best fits your topic of study?
o Assessment, Teaching, and Learning
o eLearning and Open Education
f.
Write an overview of the FLC’s proposed area of study for someone unfamiliar with the
topic (i.e. key concepts, issues, stakeholders).
g. List one or two overarching inquiry questions that will focus your learning.
Section Two: Faculty Learning Outcomes
a. List three to five goals (short and long-term) for the FLC.
b. Convert these goals into three to four measurable learning outcomes for educators
who will participate in the FLC.
c. What activities will the FLC members engage in to achieve these goals?
d. What potential connections do you anticipate between the faculty learning that will
occur in your FLC and student success?
Section Three: Alignment and Innovation
a. What tells you there is a need for deeper learning around this topic?
b. What potential alignment do you see between the topic you wish to study and broader
college-wide and state-wide initiatives?
c. How will study of this topic promote innovation and creativity in teaching and learning?
2016-17 | FLC Guidance – Appendix A
9
Section Four: Collaboration
a. How often does the FLC plan to meet? Weekly, bi-weekly, or other?
b. How does the FLC plan to meet? Face-to-face, online, hybrid, or other?
c. How you will encourage and support the full participation of all of the FLC members?
d. How will you ensure work will be shared equitably?
Section Five: Learning Artifacts
a. What digital artifacts will the FLC develop to share its learning with other educators in
the Washington State CTC system?
b. How do these artifacts connect with the faculty learning outcomes?
Section Six: Dissemination
a. How will the FLC disseminate its digital artifact(s) to its home institution(s)?
b. How will the FLC disseminate its digital artifact(s) to other educators in the Washington
State CTC system?
Section Seven: Budget
As applicable, describe how your college will use funds from this grant. See FLC fiscal
guidelines, which you can find in the “grant info” section of OGMS, for more information on
how funds may be spent.
a. Describe how your college will use funds from this grant for salaries, wages, and
benefits. See FLC fiscal guidelines for information on allowable costs.
o NOTE: Grant funds may be used to pay to provide a nominal amount of pay for
faculty or staff to coordinate the FLC but may not be used to compensate for
FLC members’ time while participating in FLC activities.
b. Describe how your college will use funds from this grant for goods and services. See
FLC fiscal guidelines for information on allowable costs.
c. Describe how your college will use funds from this grant for travel. See FLC fiscal
guidelines for information on allowable costs.
d. Describe how your college will use funds from this grant for contracts. See FLC fiscal
guidelines for information on allowable costs.
2016-17 | FLC Guidance – Appendix A
10
Appendix B
EVALUATION CRITERIA AND RUBRIC
2016-17 FACULTY LEARNING COMMUNITY
The FLC Task Force collaboratively created the following criteria and rubric which align with the 12 “tips” for developing and
sustaining an FLC in the Lifecycle of a Healthy FLC (Appendix C) based on the Faculty Learning Communities Evaluation
conducted in 2012. A review committee will use this rubric to score the FLC applications and make funding decisions for the 201617 academic year.
2016-17 | FLC Guidance – Appendix B
11
FLC Title
Facilitator
College
CRITERIA
RATING
1
Faculty
Learning
Outcomes
Proposal lacks
 long and/or short-term goals
 measurable outcomes
 potential connections between
faculty learning and student
success
2
Proposal needs further development of
 long and short-term goals
 outcomes for the FLC
 potential connections between
faculty learning and student
success
1
Alignment
&
Innovation
Collaboration
SCORE
3
Proposal identifies
 SMART long and short-term goals
 measurable and meaningful faculty
learning outcomes
 clear connections between
 faculty learning and student
success
.
2
Proposal lacks
Proposal needs further development of
 statement of need for deeper
 statement of need for deeper
faculty learning around the
faculty learning around the
proposed topic
proposed topic
 articulation of potential alignment
 articulation of potential alignment
between topic of study and
between topic of study and
campus-level or system-wide
campus-level or system-wide
initiatives
initiatives
 Articulation of how this topic will
 articulation of how this topic will
promote innovation and creativity
promote innovation and creativity
in teaching and learning
in teaching and learning
3
Proposal makes a compelling case for
 statement of need for deeper
faculty learning around the
proposed topic
 articulation of potential alignment
between topic of study and
campus-level or system-wide
initiatives
 articulation of how this topic will
promote innovation and creativity
in teaching and learning
.
1
Proposal lacks
 a plan for convening FLC members
 a plan to foster inclusion and
collaboration between members
3
Proposal identifies
 a clear, detailed, visionary, and
creative plan in regards to the
sequence, cadence, and format of
FLC convenings
 A clear, detailed, visionary, and
creative plan that will foster inclusion
and collaboration between members
.
2
Proposal needs further development of
 a plan for convening FLC
members
 a plan to foster inclusion and
collaboration between members
2016-17 | FLC Guidance – Appendix B
12
CRITERIA
RATING
1
Learning
Artifacts
Proposal lacks
 explanations of how the learning
artifacts created connect to the
FLC goals and outcomes
 descriptions of the learning
artifacts the FLC members will
create collaboratively to share its
learning with other educators
1
Dissemination
Proposal lacks
 a plan that describes how the
FLC will disseminate its
knowledge, experience, and
experience to its home
institution(s)
 a plan that describes how the
FLC will disseminate its
knowledge, experience, and
wisdom to the larger ATL and
eLearning communities
1
Budget
Proposal lacks
 a clear description or justification
of how the use of financial
resources will support FLC
outcomes/goals
 adherence of budget to fiscal
guidelines
2
Proposal needs further development of
 explanations of how the learning
artifacts created connect to the
FLC goals and outcomes
 descriptions of the learning
artifacts the FLC members will
create collaboratively to share its
learning with other educators
SCORE
3
Proposal identifies
 compelling explanations of how the
learning artifacts created connect
to the FLC goals and outcomes
 specific and detailed descriptions
of the learning artifacts the FLC
members will create collaboratively
to share its learning with other
educators
.
2
3
Proposal needs further development of
Proposal identifies
 a plan that describes how the FLC
 a clear and specific plan that
will disseminate its knowledge,
describes how the FLC will
experience, and experience to its
disseminate its knowledge,
home institution(s)
experience, and experience to its
home institution(s)
 a plan that describes how the FLC
will disseminate its knowledge,
 a detailed and creative plan that
experience, and wisdom to the
describes how the FLC will
larger ATL and eLearning
disseminate its knowledge,
communities
experience, and wisdom to the
larger ATL and eLearning
communities
.
2
3
Proposal needs further development of
Proposal identifies
 a description or justification of
 a compelling description or
how the use of financial resources
justification of how the use of
will support FLC outcomes/goals
financial resources will support
FLC outcomes/goals
 adherence of budget to fiscal
guidelines
 clear adherence of budget to fiscal
guidelines
.
TOTAL
2016-17 | FLC Guidance – Appendix B
13
/18
Appendix C
LIFECYCLE OF A HEALTHY FACULTY LEARNING COMMUNITY
2016-17 FACULTY LEARNING COMMUNITY
Below are the 12 “tips” for developing and sustaining a successful Faculty Learning Community
(FLC) based on the FLC evaluation conducted in 2012. The organization of the tips reflects the
lifecycle of a healthy FLC.
For additional information about the evaluation, contact Dr. Maureen Pettitt at
mpettitt@skagit.edu .
1. Collaboratively propose clear short and long-term goals/desired outcomes.
2. Collaboratively develop an assessment plan to measure progress towards goals/outcome
achievement.
3. Establish a shared framework, both conceptual and methodological.
4. Allow time and resources for participants to get comfortable working with each other.
5. Strive for equitable, frequent communication among members.
6. While internal, intrinsic motivation is stronger and more sustainable, also provide
incentives for organizers and for participants, if possible.
7. If possible, tap into broader campus events/align with college-wide initiatives.
8. As much as practical, collaborate across multiple disciplines/areas of the college and
across institutions.
9. Encourage interaction with outside expertise.
10. Disseminate results within and beyond the college.
11. Work with college leadership to encourage a culture which values and sustains the
learning community, allowing the FLC to persist and transform over multiple years.
12. Take the time and the steps to develop the next generation of FLC leaders.
2016-17 | FLC Guidance – Appendix C
14
Appendix D
BEYOND “UNDERSTAND”: WRITING (TRULY) MEASURABLE OUTCOMES
2016-17 FACULTY LEARNING COMMUNITY
When writing learning outcomes for FLC participants, include specific, measurable, and observable
learner behaviors. Because a learner’s performance should be both observable and measureable,
well-written outcomes should contain action verbs.
Directions
Read the list of verbs on the next page. Note any verbs that relate to the work you will do in your
FLC.
Key Question
Ask yourself, “What do you want faculty and other participants to be able to DO during and after
your FLC?”
Example 1:
Faculty will discriminate between a range of Canvas tools and select appropriately to plan and
construct a user-centered hybrid classroom for students in an anthropology 101 course.
Example 2:
Faculty will select principles of Parker Palmer’s book The Courage to Teach and relate them to their
own experience to both assess their pedagogy and write a Philosophy of Teaching Statement.
2016-17 | FLC Guidance – Appendix D
15
DOMAIN
DEFINITION
VERBS
Compile information together in a
different way by combining
elements in a new pattern or
proposing alternative solutions.
Adapt, Build, Change, Choose, Combine,
Compile, Compose, Construct, Create,
Delete, Design, Develop, Discuss,
Elaborate, Estimate, Formulate, Happen,
Imagine, Improve, Invent, Make up,
Maximize, Minimize, Modify, Original,
Originate, Plan, Predict, Propose, Solution,
Solve, Suppose, Test, Theory
EVALUATING
Present and defend opinions by
making judgments about
information, validity of ideas, or
quality of work based on a set of
criteria.
Agree, Appraise, Assess, Award, Choose,
Compare, Conclude, Criteria, Criticize,
Decide, Deduct, Defend, Determine,
Disprove, Estimate, Evaluate, Explain,
Importance, Influence, Interpret, Judge,
Justify, Mark, Measure, Opinion, Perceive,
Prioritize, Prove, Rate, Recommend, Rule
on, Select, Support, Value
ANALYZING
Examine and break information into
parts by identifying motives or
causes. Make inferences and find
evidence to support generalizations.
Analyze, Assume, Categorize, Classify,
Compare, Conclusion, Contrast, Discover,
Dissect, Distinguish, Divide, Examine,
Function, Inference, Inspect, List, Motive,
Relationships, Simplify, Survey, Take part
in, Test for, Theme
Solve problems to new situations by
applying acquired knowledge, facts,
techniques and rules in a different
way.
Apply, Build, Choose, Construct, Develop,
Experiment with, Identify, Interview, Make
use of, Model, Organize, Plan, Select,
Solve, Utilize
CREATING
APPLYING
Demonstrate understanding of facts
and ideas by organizing, comparing,
UNDERSTANDING translating, interpreting, giving
descriptions, and stating main
ideas.
REMEMBERING
Exhibit memory of previously
learned material by recalling facts,
terms, basic concepts, and
answers.
Classify, Compare, Contrast, Demonstrate,
Explain, Extend, Illustrate, Infer, Interpret,
Outline, Relate, Rephrase, Show,
Summarize, Translate
Choose, Define, Find, How, Label, List,
Match, Name, Omit, Recall, Relate, Select,
Show, Spell, Tell, What, When, Where,
Which, Who, Why
Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing, Abridged Edition. Boston,
MA: Allyn and Bacon.
2016-17 | FLC Guidance – Appendix D
16