Fourth Space: An Autoethnography of a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Micro-Community

Abstract

The present study examines the collective reflections of a group of female, non-tenure track professors as they navigated the challenges of COVID-19 through a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) micro-community. This micro-community differs from more conventional communities of practice in that it allowed participants to create fourth spaces where their previously separate roles as teachers, scholars, parents, professionals, and community members merge together to provide more holistic support for its members. We argue that the intentional cultivation of fourth spaces within academia has the potential not only support faculty morale and retention in an era of mass resignations, but that well-balanced faculty can foster well-being in students, and even inspire how we all work together.