<b>Faculty Motivation to Expand Teaching Practices: A Situated Expectancy-Value Study of a Community of Practice at a Research-Intensive Institution</b>

<p dir="ltr">This qualitative case study applies Situated Expectancy Value Theory (SEVT) to explore how participation in a Teaching Excellence Collaborative (TEC), a teaching-focused community of practice (CoP), shaped faculty mentees’ (N=16) motivational beliefs about teaching. Faculty at research-intensive (R1) institutions indicate a need for support with pedagogical practices, yet perceive research-focused achievements carry more significance for promotion than teaching effectiveness. Extant research provides limited understanding of how community context and social forms of value shape faculty’s teaching motivation and few studies have explicitly connected motivation theory to community-based faculty development. Toward these knowledge gaps, data from focus groups and ask-me-anything submissions were analyzed using SEVT. Whereas participants’ reports of initial motivation stemmed from expectations for structured teaching guidance, career advancement, and mentorship, experiences of their sustained motivation were linked to utility value of practical teaching strategies, pro-social contributions to students and peers, and long-term professional development. Mentees perceived the TEC as a psychologically safe environment where ‘thinking together’ and mutual engagement in learning activities reshaped motivational beliefs, reframed perceived costs, and affirmed professional identity. Results reveal content-and-context-related insights for future faculty development initiatives and demonstrate that mentees experienced motivation as a social process, came to view teaching as a shared responsibility, and highlight pro-social value as a distinct form of utility value for faculty motivation. Although limited to one CoP at one institution, this study provides a foundation for more human-centered faculty development and advances SEVT by contributing understanding of faculty motivation as a socially situated, identity-oriented, and highly relational process.</p><p dir="ltr"><i>Keywords: </i>Situated Expectancy Value Theory, faculty motivation, communities of practice, belongingness, mutual engagement, identity.</p>