1 Subtle SOTL Engaging academics through a pedagogical action research network Lin Norton 1, James Elander 2 and Angela Foxcroft 1 1 Liverpool Hope University 2 University of Derby

13-14 May 2010 London SOTL 8 th International conference 2 What do the experts think SOTL is? Kreber (2002) suggests 6 factors on which there is expert consensus: 1.‘Exploring relationships between teaching and learning, research, and integrating and applying knowledge’. 2.‘Effective teaching through the wisdom of practice and standards of disciplinary scholarship’. 3.‘Knowledge about teaching and learning through reflection on practice’. 4.‘Specific research skills, attitudes and products’. 5.‘Development of pedagogical content knowledge through reflection’. 6.‘Sharing of peer review of information and insight’.

13-14 May 2010 London SOTL 8 th International conference 3 Why is SOTL important ? To be an expert in the subject discipline is not enough. SOTL includes both ongoing learning about teaching and the demonstration of teaching knowledge (Kreber and Cranton, 2000). SOTL can help:  raise the status of teaching,  enable teachers to teach more knowledgeably  provide a framework in which teaching quality can be assessed (Trigwell and Shale, 2004).  become a catalyst for curriculum changes in HE (Kreber 2005)

13-14 May 2010 London SOTL 8 th International conference 4 Why might SOTL need to be subtle? Actively engaging with SOTL grounds reflective practice in a wider body of knowledge and experience, but there are many hurdles along the way… demands time from busy academics institutional commitment to value & reward teaching development willingness by departments & disciplines to acknowledge ‘different’ approaches teaching and learning sector wide recognition that pedagogical research is of equal value to ‘subject’ research

13-14 May 2010 London SOTL 8 th International conference 5 Pedagogical Action Research (PAR) and its relationship with SOTL Action research enables academics to: reflect on their practice systematically (Parker, 1997); take control of their own CPD; transform their professional perspective; work collaboratively; engage with SOTL literature from a ‘need to know’ basis

13-14 May 2010 London SOTL 8 th International conference 6 Nailing our colours to the mast The systematic study of the nature of student learning and teaching must become part of every academic’s knowledge base. Importance of the literature (theoretical and empirical) and a wisdom about the practice of teaching.

13-14 May 2010 London SOTL 8 th International conference 7 A two year National Teaching Fellowship project funded by HEFCE and managed through the Higher Education Academy. Run jointly at Liverpool Hope University and at Derby University. The Flying Start Project Practices, Communities and Policies to Ease the Transition to University Writing and Assessment.

13-14 May 2010 London SOTL 8 th International conference 8 Flying Start’s three strands 1.The practice strand: developing a transition programme for university writing, supported by specially trained undergraduate mentors. 2.The community strand: bringing together teachers, lecturers and students in a pedagogical action research network (PARN) to share understandings of the issues students face in making the transition to university writing and research possible interventions 3.The policy strand: using the project outcomes to influence policy makers across the sectors.

13-14 May 2010 London SOTL 8 th International conference 9 Creating the Flying Start Pedagogical Action Research Network Intended to be a cross sector network where teachers and lecturers would work collaboratively on PAR projects within their subject disciplines Took a long time! Very difficult to get school teachers involved One exception: an intervention study by A level History teacher and Geography teacher (Norton, Keenan, Williams, Elander and McDonough, 2009) 

13-14 May 2010 London SOTL 8 th International conference 10 Changing the focus… Concentration on establishing HE projects Modest funding ( ca £3,000) with stipulation that there is :  a cross sector involvement  a report for the Flying Start website but conference paper and a journal article would be preferable  Involvement in the round table PARN network events  Presentation at the Flying Start Symposium

13-14 May 2010 London SOTL 8 th International conference 11 SUCCESS!

13-14 May 2010 London SOTL 8 th International conference 12 The research projects 12 HE- led projects from 5 institutions Focus of research includes:  Ascertaining levels of writing skills, and actual writing experiences at 6 th form/FE level and then designing interventions  Bridging the gap between university lecturers’ and FE tutors’ understanding of the learning contexts: evaluating a shadowing model  Developing and evaluating models of writing transition interventions

13-14 May 2010 London SOTL 8 th International conference 13 The importance of research evidence “the fundamental purpose of pedagogical action research is to systematically investigate one’s own teaching/learning facilitation practice with the dual aim of modifying practice and contributing to theoretical knowledge”. (Norton, 2009) all the projects are adopting (loosely) a pedagogical action research model all are involved in collecting and evaluating research evidence in order to improve practice

13-14 May 2010 London SOTL 8 th International conference 14 Modifying practice All the Flying Start supported projects have an intended aim of making things better for students’ transition in academic writing to HE level Such improvements cannot stand in isolation from the broader context (hence the policy strand) but at the level of the individual practitioner strand, several ways in which they can influence their own more immediate contexts and this links closely with SOTL

13-14 May 2010 London SOTL 8 th International conference 15 Subtle SOTL: influencing the context Like all research dissemination this can happen at a number of levels: Within the institution (university/FE context)  research seminars, presentations to committees, in- house journal Beyond the institution  Journal papers  Conferences subject – based and generic  Chapters in edited books  Conference proceedings  On-line dissemination such as websites, blogs

13-14 May 2010 London SOTL 8 th International conference 16 Dissemination depends on scholarship of teaching and learning Whatever the level of dissemination, there needs to be a contextualisation, and linking with theoretical knowledge (SOTL literature) Has the Flying Start PARN succeeded in encouraging academics to engage with SOTL? Outcomes include:  Round table networking events  Flying Start Symposia (two)  Conference papers  Conference proceedings (Education-line)

13-14 May 2010 London SOTL 8 th International conference 17 What did not work and what did? Unable to lure teachers in via the Pedagogical Action Research network /SOTL approach HE network – definite signs of engagement with SOTL in at least one university context (where pedagogical action research already accepted, but not always valued- the REF…) Seeded individual professional relationships between lecturers and teachers but these have focussed on the practical ‘problem’ of easing transition for students and desire for practical solutions More work needs to be done in encouraging specific engagement with SOTL theoretical literature

13-14 May 2010 London SOTL 8 th International conference 18 References Kreber, C. (2002) ‘Controversy and consensus on the scholarship of teaching’, Studies in Higher Education, 27 (2): Kreber, C. (2005) ‘Charting a critical course on the scholarship of university teaching movement’, Studies in Higher Education, 30 (4): Kreber, C. and Cranton, P.A. (2000) ‘Exploring the scholarship of teaching’, Journal of Higher Education, 71: Norton, L.S. (2009) Action Research in Teaching and Learning. A Practical Guide to Conducting Pedagogical Research in Universities. Abingdon: Routledge Norton, L., Keenan, P., Williams, K., Elander, J and McDonough, G. (2009) Helping students make the transition from A level to degree level writing: a staged action research approach. Paper presented at the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference, University of Manchester, 2-5 September Now published in EDUCATION-LINE Parker, S. (1997) Reflective teaching in the postmodern world: a manifesto for education in postmodernity, Buckingham: Open University Press. Trigwell, K. and Shale, S. (2004) ‘Student learning and the scholarship of university teaching’, Studies in Higher Education, 29: