Event Details

Seminar on The Power of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for Individual and Institutional Transformation

Abstract:

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a rapidly expanding arena of inquiry in global higher education. Increasingly recognized as legitimate academic work, SoTL can reshape both individual and institutional teaching culture and impact. Building on Boyer’s (1990) framework, SoTL involves systematic, evidence-based investigations of student learning that draw on prior scholarship and yield outcomes open to peer review, critique, and broader application. At the same time, SoTL is inherently local: it is shaped by disciplinary, pedagogical, and institutional contexts and is enriched through collaborative partnerships with students (Felten, 2013).

This keynote examines SoTL’s defining dimensions and transformative potential while addressing conceptual and practical barriers to engagement. We consider threshold concepts and epistemological assumptions that can constrain participation (Bunnell & Bernstein, 2012) and the ways institutional value structures may align or misalign with SoTL work (Wright, Bunnell, Felten, Handstedt, & Metzger, under review). We conclude with actionable strategies—for individuals, programs, and institutions—to advance SoTL practice and to improve teaching and learning in higher education.

References:

Boyer, E. (1990). Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities of the professoriate. Princeton, NJ: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Bunnell, S.L., & Bernstein, D.J. (2012). Overcoming some threshold concepts in scholarly teaching. Journal of Faculty Development, 26(3), 14-18.

Felten, P. (2013). Principles of good practice in SoTL. Teaching & Learning Inquiry: The ISSOTL Journal, 1(1), 121-125.

Wright, J., Bunnell, S.L., Felten, P., Hanstedt, P., & Metzger, K.M. (under review). From solar system to SoTL System: Accretion as an analogy for building a SoTL-centered institution. In Y. Mori and B. Daniel (eds.), International Perspectives on Academic Development - Understanding Purposes, Structures, and Context. Springer.