An introduction to Communities of Inquiry for new instructors

Image by Darren Wilson × Midjourney

In a recent project, I designed a Community of Practice for contract faculty in a University design program. This Community of Practice is intended to provide a sense of connection and engagement among contract faculty within their peer group, where they can share knowledge and support one another in their teaching practices.

One of the audience groups of the Community of Practice is new hires, with onboarding taking a focal role in the CoP communications. As do many applied programs, Design is an area that has a long history of relying on professional practitioners as contract/part-time/sessional/adjunct faculty. Although skilled subject matter experts, many practitioners are less knowledgeable or skilled at direct instruction and facilitation.

This brief introduction guide to Communities of Inquiry and some facilitation strategies would be a helpful guide to first-time instructors and facilitators, not only in the Department of Design, but across many disciplines. As such, it s a fairly general-purpose guide. The goal is to encourage a more open and dialogic approach to facilitating learning, rather than a prescribed and formal “direct instructional” approach, affording learners opportunities to be more active participants in co-creating their learning experiences.

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