A Blended Learning Model for Faculty Development (Institutional Scope)

Last fall, Baylor University pioneered a "networked faculty-staff development seminar" including both face-to-face and online interaction within and between local groups at nine colleges and universities in the United States. Several individuals from other schools or organizations participated on their own as well. This "network of networks" design provided a robust, scalable model of blended learning that strengthened local learning communities but also gave each community a larger sense of shared purpose and a more diverse set of cultural practices and learning resources. This presentation will demonstrate the networked seminar's design, present three participants' accounts of their experience in the seminar, consider lessons learned, and lead session attendees in a discussion of the conceptual frameworks and pedagogical philosophies underlying this design, including recent work on the psychology of interest as it relates to learning.