May 2015
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
.

Applications ....................................................................................................................... 3
Training ................................................................................................................................ 3
What is a faculty learning community? ......................................................................... 4
FLC Membership ............................................................................................................... 5
Grant Expectations ........................................................................................................... 5
Allocating Grant Funds .................................................................................................... 6
Creating and Submitting Your Application .................................................................. 7
For More Information ........................................................................................................ 8
Appendix A:
APPLICATION QUESTIONS ................................................................................................. 9
Appendix B:
EVALUATION CRITERIA AND RUBRIC ............................................................................. 12
Appendix C:
LIFECYCLE OF A HEALTHY FACULTY LEARNING COMMUNITY ................................... 15
Appendix D:
BEYOND “UNDERSTAND”: WRITING (TRULY) MEASURABLE OUTCOMES ................... 16
2015-2016 | Faculty Learning Community Grant Guidance 2

Application Opens in OGMS: Thursday, April 23 rd , 2015
OGMS Application Deadline: Thursday, May 21 st , 2015
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: June 11 th , 2015
FLCs Begin Work: Any time after July 1 st , 2015
Application Process Webinar: Thursday, April 23 rd , 2015 from 3:30 – 5:00 PM
Alissa Sells, Program Administrator for eLearning; Jennifer Whetham, Program
Administrator for Faculty Development; and Michele Rockwell, Contract
Specialist; will explain 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
ATL Conference Session: Thursday, April 30 th , 2015 from 3:30 – 5:00 PM
In addition to providing an overview of the 2015-16 application for the Faculty
Learning Community (FLC) Grants, this interactive ATL Conference session will guide participants in planning and developing successful faculty learning communities. Participants will also learn the 12 characteristics of successful FLCs in the CTC system that provides the framework of the formative application process. After brainstorming potential FLC topics and "shareables," participants will collaboratively draft FLC goals and measurable outcomes.
Mandatory Facilitator Workshop for Funded FLCs: September 10 th -11 th , 2015
This two day training will be held at the SBCTC Bellevue office and will feature presentations from experienced FLC facilitators plus time to network with other
FLC facilitators.
2015-2016 | Faculty Learning Community Grant Guidance 3

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) invites faculty, staff, and administrators to apply for grants of up to $5,000 to fund Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) for the academic year of 2015-2016.
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.
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 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 topicbased 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, Universal Design.
2015-2016 | Faculty Learning Community Grant Guidance 4

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, mid-career and senior faculty, and department chairs.
While an FLC may focus strictly on building a campus-based or departmentbased 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.
While the long established program at Miami University has shown a group of 8 to 12 is ideal, FLC membership can range from 6 members to 15 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, notfor 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.
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 outcomes that drive all grant activities and budget expenditures.
2015-2016 | Faculty Learning Community Grant Guidance 5

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, online courses or programs.
3.
Release Openly
Work produced by the FLCs falls under the SBCTC Open Licensing Policy : beginning July 1 st , 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 2016 Assessment, Teaching, and Learning (ATL)
Conference (May 2016) in Vancouver, Washington; o presentation at the Northwest eLearning conference or the 2016
Washington User Group Canvas Conference (WACUG); o and working with SBCTC ATL Program Administrator to plan, facilitate, present, and participate in statewide events such as o
Fall 2015 or Winter 2016 ATL retreats, o o
Winter-Spring 2016 IGNIS Webinar Series,
Train-the-trainer workshops or one-day drive-in events.
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
2015-2016 | Faculty Learning Community Grant Guidance 6

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 2014-15 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 reimbursement. Colleges must pay invoices and reimburse individual college staff and faculty before invoicing SBCTC. FLC facilitators must also work closely with business and/or grants offices to determine which college faculty or staff will be responsible for invoicing SBCTC for the grant.
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 to generate ideas and potential answers to the application questions.
2015-2016 | 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 screen shots 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.
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 Shannon Bell, Secretary Senior, SBCTC at sbell@sbctc.edu
or at 360-704-
4364.
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 360-704-4343.
2015-2016 | Faculty Learning Community Grant Guidance 8

2015-16 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
2015-16 academic year (aka a “title” for your FLC)? 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 about the topic.
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?
2015-16|FLC Guidance – Appendix A 9

Section Three: Assessment a.
What methods will you use to assess your FLC’s progress towards its goals? b.
What methods will you use to assess your FLC’s progress towards the faculty learning outcomes?
Section Four: Institutional Alignment and Innovation a.
What tells you there a need for this FLC at your institution(s)? b.
How might this FLC tap into broader campus events and/or align with college-wide initiatives? c.
What are potential connections between the proposed FLC area of study and the mission statements of your institution(s)? d.
How does this FLC promote innovation and creativity in teaching and learning?
Section Five: Collaboration a.
How often does the FLC plan to meet? Weekly, bi-weekly, or other? b.
How does the FLC plan to meet? For example, face-to-face, online, hybrid, or other? c.
How you will encourage and support the full participation of all of the FLC members to create an inclusive learning community? d.
How will the organization of the FLC ensure that work will be shared equitably, and not left solely on the shoulders of the designated facilitator? e.
Does the FLC encourage collaboration across multiple disciplines/areas of the college and across institutions?
Section Six: Learning Artifacts a.
What digital artifacts will the FLC develop? b.
How do these artifacts connect with the faculty learning outcomes? c.
How will these artifacts serve as resources to other faculty members and/or institutions to deepen their professional learning around the FLC topic?
2015-16|FLC Guidance – Appendix A 10

Section Seven: Dissemination a.
How will the FLC disseminate its knowledge, expertise, experience, and digital artifacts to its home institution(s)? b.
How will the FLC disseminate its knowledge, expertise, experience, and digital artifacts to the larger ATL community?
Section Eight: 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.
2015-16|FLC Guidance – Appendix A 11

2015-16 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 2015-16 academic year.
2015-16 | FLC Guidance – Appendix B 12

FLC Title
Facilitator
Faculty
Learning
Outcomes
Assessment
Institutional
Alignment
&
Innovation
Collaboration
College
1
 Proposal lacks long and/or shortterm goals.
 Proposal lacks measurable outcomes.
2
 Long and short-term goals are identified, but may not clearly connect with the outcomes.
 Proposal lists outcomes for the FLC, but they may need revision to ensure they are truly measurable.
1 2
 Proposal lacks an assessment plan.  There is an assessment plan, but it may not clearly align with the FLC goals or stated outcomes.
1
 There is no evidence that the goals or outcomes of FLC align with institutional innovation and/or statelevel initiatives/projects.
 Proposal lacks defined members (or a recruitment plan).
 Proposal lacks a plan for communication between FLC members.
 Proposal lacks a plan to foster inclusion and collaboration between members.
1
2
 There is some evidence that the goals and outcomes of the FLC align with institutional innovation and/or state-level initiatives/projects.
 Evidence of alignment could be developed in more detail.
2
 Proposal identifies some FLC members and outlines a plan for recruiting additional members.
 A communication plan is identified, but could be strengthened.
 Opportunities to promote inclusion and collaboration might be further articulated.
3
 Proposal identifies long and shortterm goals.
 The stated goals clearly connect to 3 to 4 measurable outcomes.
3
 The assessment plan aligns with both the goals and the outcomes.
3
 There is substantial and welldeveloped evidence that the goals and outcomes of the FLC align with the innovative initiatives/projects of multiple institutions and/or statelevel initiatives/projects.
3
 Proposal clearly identifies FLC members.
 The communication plan is clear and detailed.
 Opportunities to promote inclusion and collaboration are fully explored and fleshed out in detail.
.
.
.
.
2015-16 | FLC Guidance – Appendix B 13

Learning
Artifacts
Dissemination
Budget
1
 Proposal lacks descriptions of the learning artifacts,
 Proposal lacks explanations of how the learning artifacts connect to the
FLC goals and outcomes.
1
 Proposal lacks a plan that describes how the FLC will disseminate its knowledge, experience, and experience to its home institution(s),
 Proposal lacks a plan that describes how the FLC will disseminate its knowledge, experience, and wisdom to the larger ATL and eLearning communities.
1
 Proposal does not clearly describe or justify the use of financial resources in support of FLC outcomes/goals.
 The budget may not adhere to the fiscal guidelines.
2
 Proposal describes the learning artifacts FLC members will create, but these may not be clearly linked to the FLC goals or its outcomes.
More description may be needed.
2
 There is a plan to disseminate the knowledge, expertise, and experience of the FLC learning to its home institution(s), but this could be more detailed.
 Proposal outlines a plan to disseminate its knowledge, experience, and wisdom to the larger ATL and eLearning communities, but this could be clarified and/or revised.
2
 Proposal describes and justifies the use of financial resources, but this may need further development in terms of clarity or alignment with
FLC outcomes/goals.
 The budget mostly adheres to the fiscal guidelines, but may require refinement.
3
 Proposal describes the learning artifacts it will create and shows how these connect to the FLC goals and outcomes.
.
3
 Proposal identifies multiple means and channels for dissemination of its knowledge, experience, and wisdom within the FLC itself, its home institution(s), and the larger ATL and eLearning communities.
3
 Proposal describes and justifies the use of financial resources in alignment with the FLC outcomes and goals.
 The budget adheres to the fiscal guidelines.
.
.
/18
2015-16 | FLC Guidance – Appendix B 14

2015-16 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.
2015-16 | FLC Guidance – Appendix C 15

2015-16 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.
2015-16 |FLC Guidance – Appendix D 16

Compile information together in a different way by combining elements in a new pattern or proposing alternative solutions.
Present and defend opinions by making judgments about information, validity of ideas, or quality of work based on a set of criteria.
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
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
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
Demonstrate understanding of facts and ideas by organizing, comparing, translating, interpreting, giving descriptions, and stating main ideas.
Classify, Compare, Contrast, Demonstrate,
Explain, Extend, Illustrate, Infer, Interpret,
Outline, Relate, Rephrase, Show,
Summarize, Translate
Exhibit memory of previously learned material by recalling facts, terms, basic concepts, and answers.
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.
2015-16 |FLC Guidance – Appendix D 17