1. Why SoTL? Why Now? The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning as an Opportunity for Growth and Reflection
Jennifer Friberg, Ed.D.
Bradley University Fall Forum Keynote
August 2015

2. Goals for this morning:
Define and explain the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL)
Contrast the concepts of good teaching, scholarly teaching, and the scholarship of teaching and learning
Explore the benefits of SoTL for individual courses, academic programs/departments, and the Bradley University community at-large

3. The Evolution of SoTL: Boyer’s Four Scholarships
Integration
Teaching
Application
Discovery
(Boyer, 1990)

4. The Teaching Continuum (McKinney, 2007)
Good Teaching
Teaching that promotes student learning and other desired student outcomes
Scholarly Teaching
Teaching that is supported by a body of research to increase effectiveness
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Combination of reflection and knowledge which yields questions about teaching for study

5. Working within the continuum
How might teachers at different points along this continuum handle the following situation:
In an introduction to psychology class at a large Midwestern university, the course instructor notices that her students tend to be reluctant to engage in whole-class discussions.
What might the good teacher do?
What might a scholarly teacher do?
How could this be studied in a scholarly manner?

6. What is SoTL? Poses a problem related to teaching and learning
Problem is operationalized into a research question
Problem is studied using methods appropriate for specific disciplinary epistemologies
Work is peer reviewed
Results are applied to practice
(McKinney, 2007)

7. Contemporary Conception of SoTL
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Systematic examination
Focused on improving teaching or learning
Disseminated beyond researcher

8. Why Engage in SoTL?
To develop a report on an aspect of one particular course
To describe the interaction of several courses or the student experience across courses
To reflect on teaching practices/pedagogical choices from teaching (perhaps over time)
To investigate interdisciplinary commonalities
To synthesize existing SoTL work
To propose or test new learning theories

9. Why engage in SoTL: To improve PCK
Disciplinary Content Knowledge
General Pedagogical Knowledge
PCK
(Pedagogical Content Knowledge ; Schulman, 2004)

10. How to SoTL: Potential Data Collection Tools
Course portfolios
Specific course artifacts (e.g., assignments/projects/assessments)
Interviews
Focus groups
Questionnaires/surveys
Content analysis
Multi-method studies

11. How is SoTL Disseminated?
SoTL is disseminated in ways consistent with your disciplinary expectations:
Internal/external publications
traditional research papers/research notes
book
blog
wiki
creative endeavor
documentary
artistic representation

12. Benefits of SoTL: Individual Course Level
To better understand how your students learn
To identify ways to deal with unique situational constraints
To determine the impact of an assignment, project, or assessment technique
To compare and contrast pedagogical approaches

13. Benefits of SoTL: The utility of teaching problems
Bass (1999) posits that teaching problems aren’t shameful… they are actually opportunities for faculty.
What are some teaching problems that you are all having? Small group, then whole share.
From Vanderbilt University’s CFT Homepage

14. Benefits of SoTL: Academic Unit
Curriculum review
Curriculum development
Accreditation
Program review
Formative/summative assessment

15. Benefits of SoTL: Institutional Level
Budget
Accredi-tation
Program Review
Student Affairs
Strategic Planning
Assess-ment
Curriculum Redesign

16. Future Directions For SoTL (Hutchings, 2015)
SoTL needs to be a part of regular practices of teaching so that any/all pedagogical choices are evidence-based.
SoTL needs to be more integrated into institutional policies and agendas to ensure a greater impact into new and ongoing formative and summative assessment efforts.
SoTL needs to engage students, more fully, as research associates and collaborators to encourage a reflective/metacognitive focus up on their learning and the learning of their peers.

17. Why Is Now A Good Time For SoTL?
Bradley University Core Curriculum
Implementation is planned
Core Outcomes can be measurable at class, program, or institutional levels
Critical and creative thinking
Effective communication
Multidisciplinary integration
Practical application
Social awareness

18. Critical And Creative Thinking
Bradley graduates will think critically, independently and creatively, and will employ evidence-based decision-making to solve problems and build new knowledge.
How can this outcome be measured?
Track problem solving processes over a semester or academic year for innovation
Measure the frequency that students access research to make evidence-informed decisions
Determine the level of critical thinking rigor required of students to complete core practice activities

19. Effective Communication
Bradley graduates will be effective oral, written and non-verbal communicators as well as active readers and listeners.
How can you measure this outcome?
Measure changes in peer-peer communications during collaborative activities
Measure changes in peer-teacher communications in structured and unstructured situations

20. Multidisciplinary Integration
Bradley graduates will approach learning in an integrated manner, connecting knowledge and skills across multiple disciplines.
How can this outcome be measured?
Assess how able students are to generalize information from one course to the next
Determine the success of cross-curricular projects
Ascertain student perceptions of how well integrated their curriculum is from their perspective

21. Practical Application
Bradley graduates will apply knowledge and skills from the classroom in real-world situations.
How can this outcome be measured?
Measure how well students are able to apply some aspect of their course curriculum to solve a “real world” problem with the help of professionals outside academia
Determine the impact of engaging practicing professionals to teach critical aspects of a discipline

22. Social Awareness
Bradley graduates will understand and act ethically upon their connections to larger communities.
How can this outcome be measured?
Determine if case studies are impactful in teaching about professional ethics
Measure the impact of civic engagement in the development of a world knowledge, compassion, or learning

23. Your View of the Possible…

24. References
Bass, R. (1999). The scholarship of teaching: What’s the problem? Invention: Creative Thinking About Learning and Teaching, 1 (1), Boyer, E. L. (1990). Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Ginsberg, S. M., Friberg, J. C., & Visconti, C. F. (2012). Scholarship of teaching and learning in speech-language pathology and audiology: Evidence-based education. San Diego: Plural Publishing. McKinney, K. (2007). Enhancing learning though the scholarship of teaching and learning: The challenges and joys of juggling. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Shulman, L. S. (2004). Teaching As Community Property. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.