Applying a Faculty Learning Community Approach to Implementing a Blended Learning Initiative

In 2011, Oregon State University established a Hybrid Course Development Pilot Program. Each instructor selected for the program participates in a term-long hybrid faculty learning community while redesigning an existing on-campus course for hybrid delivery. This presentation will describe the structure and functioning of this professional learning community, which immerses an interdisciplinary group of course developers in a blended learning environment even as each of them carries out a hybrid course redesign. Learning outcomes, content, scheduling, and activities of the group will be illustrated as well as the collaborative administrative framework used to support the program.

Learning Objectives:
* Understand how a professional learning community can serve as a vehicle for implementation of a blended learning initiative
* Describe how a faculty learning community, structured in a blended format, can be successfully facilitated to guide faculty through the redesign of classroom courses as hybrid courses
* Assess similarities and differences between a faculty learning community and other trainings or courses more typically used to prepare faculty to teach blended or online courses