Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

According to the University of British Columbia Institute for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, there are three main SoTL objectives:

1. “To improve student learning by finding better, more engaging ways to teach.
2. To conduct scholarly examination of what takes place inside the classroom, asking questions and collecting evidence on the effectiveness of different methods of teaching.
3. To make the results of this analysis readily available to other scholars, inviting their comment and review, and contributing to knowledge on student learning.”

Additionally, the literature has described these common characteristics of scholarship of teaching and learning:

• Focused on enhancing student learning through more effective teaching
• Asks meaningful questions about teaching activities
• Often involves teachers’ experiences
• Grounded in scholarly literature
• Conducted by teachers, sometimes in partnership with students
• Involves systematic inquiry that is methodologically sound
• Findings are disseminated locally or in peer reviewed publications
• Findings are disseminated in sufficient detail that they can be replicated and applied
• Fosters critical reflection on the part of teacher/researcher
• Leads to innovative, student-centered, scholarly teaching

Sources

Elon University Center for Engaged Learning
SoTL vs. Scholarly Teaching

Elon University Center for Engaged Learning
What IS SoTL?

Tufts University Center for Enhancement of Learning and Teaching
Feedback from Scholarship (SoTL)

University of Connecticut Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Northwestern University Searle Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning
Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

DePaul University Teaching Commons
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

University of British Columbia Institute for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Guide

University of Central Florida Faculty Center
SoTL and DBER: Overview

University of Denver Office of Teaching & Learning
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)

The process for conducting and sharing results of a SoTL study is similar to that for doing other empirical research; however, it is also different in that it often begins with an instructor’s experience of teaching. Following are suggested steps for designing, conducting, and reporting SoTL research:

Step 1: Explore your own teaching experiences and challenges, looking for questions to investigate.

Step 2: Select a topic and formulate a research question. Common SoTL questions include:

• What works? (evaluating evidence about the relative effectiveness of teaching approaches).
• What is? (describing teaching approaches and how students learn),
• What could be possible? (inquiring about unmet or new goals for teaching and learning),
• What broader theories exist? (building the theoretical framework behind new SoTL research).
  Getting Started with SoTL

Step 3: Explore the literature, looking for prior work that can provide a larger context for your study.

Step 4: Select a design and data collection methods, with ethical and practical considerations in mind. Common data collection methods include interviews; surveys and questionnaires; observations; focus groups; tests, assignments, and other performance measures; content analysis; case studies; and secondary analyses.

Step 5: Apply to the university IRB and, after your study is approved, collect and analyze data, following the procedures you described in your IRB application. Analyze the data using qualitative and/or quantitative data analysis techniques. Ethical issue to consider include:

• Informed consent
• Right to privacy
• Protection from harm
• Dual relationships
• Power differences
• Data storage and usage

See Alliant IRB process and requirements for details on how to apply.

Step 6: Disseminate results: Write up the study and submit manuscripts for publication or presentations. The results should be circulated widely, so they can be used for course or curriculum improvement not only by you, but also by colleagues and a wide range of instructors.

Sources

Elon University Center for Engaged Learning
Asking Inquiry Questions

Tufts University Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching
Getting Started with SoTL

University of Georgia Center for Teaching and Learning
Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

American University CTRL Faculty Resources
What is SOTL?

Elon University Center for the Advancement of Teaching & Learning
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Community College of Rhode Island Center for Teaching Excellence
SoTL Overview

University of British Columbia Institute for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Kennesaw State University Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
Tips for SoTL Newbies

SoTL research uses a variety of data collection methods, both quantitative and qualitative. Each method has strengths, but most importantly, the method chosen should be appropriate to the research question asked. Examples of commonly used methods include the following:

• Interviews: Interviews can range from tightly structured (using an interview protocol consisting of a predetermined set of questions in a specified order with each interviewee) to unstructured (having a free-flowing conversation whose direction is determined organically as the interview proceeds).
• Focus groups: Speaking with several people in a group setting to generate detailed information from a variety of points of view. The interactions of participants with differing perspectives can also be studied.
• Surveys and questionnaires: These comprise a set of questions that are usually delivered on paper or online to participants. They can include Likert scale questions, multiple choice questions, and open-ended questions to provide both quantitative and qualitative data.
• Tests, assignments, and other performance measures: Information about student learning can be collected by reviewing assignments associated with a class or standardized tests and other measures of student performance.
• Observations: Directly observing the phenomena of interest (e.g., Individual, dyad, or group behavior), using a structured system to classify behavior, can yield information on student and/or teacher behavior.
• Content analysis: Applying a specific and replicable system to analyze written, spoken, or visual data can lead to inferences from the data (e.g., student journals, reflections, assignments, and course portfolios; teacher reflections and teaching portfolios; video or audio recording of class sessions).
• Case Studies: Careful description and in-depth analysis of a specific instance, such as a particular individual, event, course, or student group can provide rich, descriptive data of a single case, yielding understating of a phenomenon more deeply.
• Secondary Analysis: Existing data, such as institutional records or the results of previous studies, can be analyzed to address new research questions.

Sources

Kathleen McKinney Illinois State University
Research Methods for Doing Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

University of Minnesota Center for Educational Innovation
Gathering Data

Elon University Center for Engaged Learning
SoTL Methods of Inquiry

George Mason University The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Research Methods and Design

Nancy Chick The Scholarship of Teaching Learning
Gathering Evidence

American University CTRL Faculty Resources
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Illinois State University The SoTL Advocate
Case Study Research

As with all research projects, researchers considering SoTL studies should think of the related ethical issues and design studies with these considerations in mind. (See Alliant IRB.) According to Kathleen McKinney, Endowed Chair in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at Illinois State University, three ethical standards or criteria (expanded here) should be considered in SoTL. Ethical Issues in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

• Informed Consent. Participants in research have the right to give or refuse to give consent to participate. To give meaningful consent, they must be adequately informed about the nature, risks, purpose, privacy, and consequences, of the study. Making sure students are fully informed means describing and discussing the research and what participation entails before seeking consent and making it clear there are no repercussions for refusal to participate. Additionally, instructors may want to include a statement about the research in their syllabus.
• Right to Privacy. Private data can be anonymous (i.e., no one can connect the specific person to their data) or confidential (at least one person can connect a specific person to their responses or actions). Not labeling data or using code numbers are ways to ensure privacy. Aggregating the data also helps maintain privacy. A statement about protection of privacy is usually included in the statement obtaining informed consent.
• Protection from Harm. In research with human participants, researchers are obligated to protect them from physical, emotional, and social harm, and any potential harm must be clearly outweighed by the benefits to the participants or to society as a whole. This is a subjective decision to make; thus, potential harm is also one of the areas the IRB will review. Avoiding harm also includes refraining from punishing or disadvantaging anyone who declines to participate or who ends their participation before the study is completed.

Others have added the issues of

• Dual Relationships. According to the Elon University Center for Engaged Learning, “most social science research concerns the use of human participants for research purposes alone; however, SoTL research involves the addition of a researcher-participant dimension to an already existing teacher-student relationship, thus creating a dual relationship for the researcher”. Researchers must take care that the dual nature of their relationship with their students does not hinder their teaching role or affect students. IRB & Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
• Power Differences. Researchers are also cautioned to be cognizant of the “inherent power difference between instructors and their students (assigning grades, helping or hindering movement through a degree program, writing letters of recommendation, etc.) “. Specifically, because they hold dual roles as teacher and researcher SoTL researchers must keep from making students feel unduly influenced, coerced, or compelled to participate because of power imbalances. Some strategies to consider include using a third party to collect the data, collecting data after grades are finalized, and collecting de-identified data. Four Areas of ethical Consideration for SoTL Research
• Data use and storage. Protecting data integrity involves safeguarding data and consent forms, both physically and digitally, before, during, and after the research is complete, including retaining the data for a specified amount of time. Additionally, “The use of audio, video or other recording requires special consideration, because of the difficulty of ensuring the anonymity of your participants. It is important to allow students to indicate whether they agree to the use of their image or recording. Only tapes in which all potentially identifiable students have consented to the use of their recorded voice or image may be used for research.” IRB & Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Sources

Kathleen McKinney Illinois State University
Ethical Issues in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Elon University Institutional Review Board
IRB & Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

University of Calgary Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning
Four Areas of ethical Consideration for SoTL Research

Purdue University Teaching @Purdue
Research Design and Ethics

University of Georgia Center for Teaching and Learning
Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching
SoTL Guide

Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching
Doing Ethical Research: SoTL and the IRB

York University
SoTL Research Ethics Guide

University of Rhode Island Office for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning
SoTL, Ethics, & the IRB

University of Northern Iowa Office of Research & Sponsored Programs
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

There are many organizations, journals, websites, conferences, podcasts, and blogs that focus on the scholarship of teaching and learning. The following are some of the sites that provide information on these resources:

Kennesaw State University Campus Hub
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Orgon State University Center for Teaching and Learning
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Elon University Center for Advancement of Teaching & Learning
Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Santa Clara University Faculty Collaborative for Teaching Innovation
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Minneapolis Community and Technical Collage CTL Newsletter
What is SoTL and Why You Should Care About It

James Madison University Center for Faculty Innovation
Developing a SoTL Research Question

University of Connecticut Library
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Journals

Auraria Library
Research Methods

Western University Centre for Teaching and Learning
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

University of Cincinnati Libraries
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Resources