Engaging in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: A Guide to the Process, and How to Develop a Project from Start to Finish

This is a book for anyone who has ever considered engaging in the scholarship of teaching and learning – known familiarly as SoTL – and needs a better understanding of what it is, and how to engage in it. The authors describe how to create a SoTL project, its implications for promotion and tenure, and how it fosters:* Increased satisfaction and fulfillment in teaching* Improved student learning* Increased productivity of scholarly publication* Collaboration with colleagues across disciplines* Contributing to a growing and important body of literatureThis guide provides prospective SoTL scholars with the necessary background information, foundational theory, tools, resources, and methodology to develop their own SoTL projects, taking the reader through the five stages of the process: Generating a research question; Designing the study; Collecting the data; Analyzing the data; and Presenting and publishing your SoTL project. Each stage is illustrated by examples of actual SoTL studies, and is accompanied by worksheets to help the reader refine ideas and map out his or her next steps. The process and worksheets are the fruit of the successful SoTL workshops the authors have offered at their institution for many years. SoTL differs from scholarly and reflective teaching in that it not only involves questioning one’s teaching or a teaching strategy, but also formally gathering and exploring evidence, researching the literature, refining and testing practices, and finally going public. The purpose of SoTL is not just to make an impact on student learning, but through formal, peer-reviewed communication, to contribute to the larger knowledge base on teaching and learning. While the roots of SoTL go back some 30 years, it was Ernest Boyer in his classic Scholarship Reconsidered who made the case for the parity of the scholarships of integration, of discovery, of application, and of scholarship of teaching as vital to the health of higher education. Glassick, Huber, and Maeroff ’s subsequent Scholarship Assessed articulated the quality standards for SoTL, since when the field has burgeoned with the formation of related associations, a proliferation of conferences, the launching of numerous journals, and increasing recognition and validation by institutions.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements Foreword—Craig E. Nelson 1. Introduction to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 2. Reflecting on Teaching and Learning 3. Introduction to the Steps in the SoTL Research Process 4. Generating the Research Idea 5. Designing the Study 6. Collecting the Data 7. Analyzing the Data 8. Presenting and Publishing Your Results 9. Challenges of and Solutions for Doing Research on Teaching and Learning Appendix A. SoTL Conferences Appendix B. SoTL Journals Appendix C. Disciplinary Journals Appendix D. Journals About Higher Education in General References Index

About the Author :
Cathy Bishop-Clark is a Professor and Chair of Computer Information Technology at Miami University, OH Beth Dietz-Uhler is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Miami University, OH.

Review :
"Bishop-Clark and Dietz-Uhler have made a unique contribution in the present volume. It is an exceptionally fine, straight-forward and brief guide for faculty looking at their first SOTL project. For most such readers, it will probably seem to be the most helpful of the [available] guides. And, although it is written with the novice in mind, many of us with more experience also will benefit from reading through it. I anticipate that this book will lead many more faculty members to see their teaching as an opportunity to engage in SOTL. And, even though it is clearly an effective guide for individual thinking, it will be even more effective when used as the focus of a Faculty Learning Community or by a less formal group of faculty working together. Indeed, the core structure and especially the worksheets will help groups to stay focused and productive. However used, it will help teachers use SOTL as a way to improve their students’ learning and to foster more advanced learning outcomes while simultaneously enhancing the faculty members’ own professional development and careers. I hope you find it as interesting and helpful as I did." Craig E. Nelson Emeritus Professor of Biology, Indiana University, and Founding President, International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning “Cathy Bishop-Clark and Beth Dietz-Uhler bring to this volume their own contagious passion for the scholarship of teaching and learning—but also an ability to translate their journey into steps that those newer to the work can easily follow. The result is both practical and inspiring." Pat Hutchings, Consulting Scholar, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Scholar in Residence, Gonzaga University