Is Boyer’s Scholarship Reconsidered Still Relevant: A Case study of a College-Wide Professional Learning Community

Abstract

As universities attempt to integrate academic research into meaningful real-world application, faculty are encouraged to improve, understand, and collaborate on instruction and scholarship. Boyer’s writings on the topic in Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate attempted to engage faculty in this pursuit. One College of Education explored Boyer’s model through faculty participation in a Professional Learning Community (PLC). Using a qualitative case study including a review of documents and faculty focus groups, the researchers studied how faculty were able to infuse components of Boyer’s Scholarship Reconsidered in their work. Findings pointed to enhanced understanding of Boyer’s writings by faculty, but did not result in increased incorporation of his ideas into practice during the PLC. The researchers concluded that improvements in the leadership, design, and application of the PLC could facilitate faculty participation in a PLC and could result in increased engagement and application of Boyer’s writings in their work. Keywords: Boyer’s Scholarship Reconsidered, professional learning communities, higher education