ABSTRACT
The pedagogy matters practice improvement model draws heavily from the literature on, and from examples of, successful online communities of practice. If there is a spectrum of effective community of practice designs, the pedagogy matters practice improvement model is at the most structured and focused end. Faculty online communities that create trust and engender active participation cannot be anonymous. As in any social environment, the first rule of thumb is to introduce oneself. In the pedagogy matters practice improvement community, the user profile functions as an initial introduction to the community and an ongoing reference point. In a vibrant pedagogy matters practice improvement community, members see it as their responsibility to regularly check in, post their lesson narratives on a timely basis, read the comments of others, post their own comments, and participate actively in community activities. Some of the norms of interaction in a community are set early as community revs up and the practice improvement process is introduced.
