Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)

Many of us who specialize in traditional academic disciplines are unfamiliar with the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). There are several peer-reviewed journals, conferences and institutes dedicated to SoTL; it is a burgeoning field of study, in many ways particularly well suited to the kind of work we do at a teaching intensive, four-year comprehensive public institution such as BSU. SoTL is defined by Illinois State University as "the systematic reflection on teaching and learning made public."

Or, as the editors of The International Journal of SoTL write:

SoTL is a key way to improve teaching effectiveness, student learning outcomes, and the continuous transformation of academic cultures and communities. Through research questions and methodologies applied to teaching and learning, the making public of that research and its results so that it can be analyzed and critiqued, and through the constructing of an available, growing body of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom about the teaching and learning processes and outcomes, college and university teaching is seen as a serious intellectual activity that can be evidence and outcome based.

At BSU, several faculty members are engaged in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.  In the Office of Teaching and Learning, Dr. Karen Richardson (Associate Professor in the MAHPLS Department and OTL Faculty Fellow) leads our efforts to support faculty interested in SoTL.  At a workshop in the fall of 2011, Dr. Richardson shared definitions of SoTL and offered some examples of SoTL work being done at BSU right now.  To view the PowerPoint presentation, click here.  Dr. Richardson has developed additional resources for BSU faculty, including the document "Steps for Success for SoTL."

SoTL Conferences

A Web page on The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Kennesaw State University website provides links to over 200 upcoming teaching conferences:  http://www.kennesaw.edu/cetl/resources/na_conf_list.html

Two conferences in the upcoming academic year of interest: 

SoTL Resources

Illinois State University has an excellent webpage dedicated to SoTL, with links to many useful resources:

http://www.sotl.ilstu.edu/ (ISU SoTL page)
http://www.sotl.ilstu.edu/resLinks/sites.shtml (SoTL links/resources)
http://www.sotl.ilstu.edu/sotlConf/ (SoTL Conferences and Institutes)

George Mason University has a useful list of web resources and journals in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, broken down by discipline:
http://cte.gmu.edu/References/teaching_discipline.html

Georgia Southern University hosts a unique program called "SoTL Mentors to the World," a group of faculty from across the country and the world experienced in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.  They are available for faculty to contact them about ideas for SoTL projects, or about SoTL projects in progress. Simply email a mentor to begin an email exchange.  You can learn about the program here:  http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/v5n1/sotlMentors.html

SoTL Journals

The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Kennesaw State University has a great website devoted to publications in SoTL, broken out by categories (General or Interdisciplinary Journals; Teaching with Technology; Discipline Specific; General Issues in Higher Education).  It is updated regularly and is a great resource:  http://www.kennesaw.edu/cetl/resources/journals.html

 Illinois State University's Milner Library has a page dedicated to journals in SoTL:   http://ilstu.libguides.com/sotl

A Sampling of Disciplinary SoTL Journals

Journal of Chemical Education http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/
Journal of Natural Resource Life Science Education http://www.jnrlse.org/
Research in the Teaching of English (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) http://www.ncte.org/journals/rte
College English http://www.ncte.org/journals/ce
Journal of Economic Education (Routledge) http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/00220485.asp

Examples of Disciplinary SoTL Research

from SUNY Buffalo:   http://www.buffalostate.edu/orgs/castl/examples.html

General/Interdisciplinary SoTL journals

BSU supports SoTL through the following venues:

Teaching and Learning Grants supported by the Office of Teaching and Learning:
  • Teacher-Scholar Grants
  • Teaching and Learning Travel Grants
  • Teaching Circle Grants

The Teacher-Scholar Summer Institute

Faculty/Librarian Research Grants (CARS)






 

Last Modified: April 24, 2012