Delivering Institutional Priorities in Learning and Teaching Through a Social Learning Model: Embedding a High Impact Community of Practice Initiative at the University of Tasmania

This chapter describes the University of Tasmania’s Communities of Practice Initiative (CoPI), established in 2011 by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Students and Education). The purpose of the CoPI is to provide collaborative professional learning opportunities for staff around priority and special interest areas in learning and teaching. Importantly, the CoPI is supported with strategic funding, allocated to promote the development of emergent, evolving and broad-reaching Communities of Practice (CoP). Coordinated by the central learning and teaching unit of the University of Tasmania, the CoPI provides on-going professional development for participants to support them to establish, facilitate, disseminate and sustain their work. Since 2011, the CoPI has funded over 30 CoPs in three distinct programs. The initiative has raised the profile of learning and teaching across the institution and increased the number of staff actively participating in learning and teaching scholarship. The CoPI is recognised by staff to provide collegial learning opportunities and space to engage with colleagues from other parts of the University with similar interests. This chapter outlines the background, establishment, and on-going development of the CoPI, including the professional learning opportunities afforded to participants through the initiative. In doing so, this chapter showcases a whole-of-institution program that has delivered professional learning opportunities for individuals and groups leading to institutional change and the enhancement of the learning and teaching culture across the University of Tasmania.