An online community for faculty teaching physics or physical science to preservice teachers

Faculty implementing a non-traditional course often do so on their own, and may face many challenges without support. Alternatively, being part of a community of colleagues teaching the same course can serve as a resource for practical issues, facilitation strategies, and discussions about student learning. The Next Generation Physical Science and Everyday Thinking (Next Gen PET) Faculty Online Learning Community (FOLC) is just such a community. Fifty participating faculty meet regularly by videoconference in small groups facilitated by experts. A Slack workspace provides an online platform for communication and collaboration between meetings. Faculty in the community are teaching physics or physical science courses for preservice elementary teachers using the Next Gen PET curriculum, which is a research-based, guided inquiry curriculum for preservice elementary teachers. Next Gen PET is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards, and includes versions for different course formats and content topics. This poster will describe the community and how it supports instructors.