Introduction to SoTL
Engaging in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) offers a pathway to enhance your teaching practices, promote evidence-based pedagogy, and contribute to the wider educational community.
Last week I shared that this summer I would focus on a series of posts about gathering evidence of our teaching and our students’ learning through classroom-based research, or the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). Read last week’s newsletter here. This week we’re diving into what SoTL is and what SoTL research can look like.
What is SoTL?
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a research approach that focuses on the improvement of student learning outcomes in higher education. The principles of SoTL, as outlined by Felten (2013), serve as a framework for conducting meaningful investigations of our teaching and our students’ learning.
SoTL is characterized by its inquiry focused on student learning. It emphasizes the exploration of teaching practices and their impact on student engagement, understanding, and achievement. By prioritizing the investigation of student learning experiences, SoTL aims to inform evidence-based teaching practices that enhance educational outcomes.
SoTL is grounded in context. It recognizes the importance of considering the specific institutional, disciplinary, and cultural factors that influence teaching and learning. Contextual understanding allows researchers to develop interventions and strategies that align with the unique needs and challenges of their educational settings.
SoTL is methodologically sound. Appropriate and thoughtfully selected research methods, including both quantitative and qualitative approaches, are employed to gather relevant evidence.
SoTL promotes collaboration with students. Beyond research subjects, SoTL projects are likely to involve students as partners in the research process. Student involvement can range from co-designing research questions to actively participating in data collection and analysis.
SoTL encourages appropriate public dissemination of findings. By sharing research outcomes through conferences, publications, and other platforms, SoTL contributes to the broader academic community, fostering a culture of scholarly teaching and evidence-informed decision-making.
What does SOTL look like?
There are many types of research questions, methods, and tools represented in SoTL research. For some faculty, the research you encounter will be familiar to research you have conducted in your own discipline; for others, engaging in research about teaching and learning will be a new area of exploration. By understanding the various research methods and tools common in SoTL research, you can choose those that align with your research questions and best capture the impact of your teaching intervention.
“What is” or “What I do” research
The first approach is all about documenting your instructional design strategies or pedagogical approaches. By carefully recording the specific methods, techniques, and materials you use to enrich the learning experience, you create a valuable resource for yourself and others. You can analyze course artifacts, student work, or engage in systematic self-reflection. By doing so, you gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of your teaching approach and identify areas where adjustments could be made to optimize student learning outcomes.
“What I changed” research
When it comes to classroom research, documenting learning gain and affective outcomes is crucial. This can involve measuring the progress your students make in acquiring knowledge and skills, but can also involve examining their engagement, interest, beliefs, and attitudes. By collecting data on implementation of innovations in design or delivery of learning experiences, you gather valuable data on how instructional strategies impact student learning and well-being. Comparing strengths and weaknesses of the "old" and "new" approaches can lead to valuable insights for evidence-based decision-making.
Data collection
Faculty can utilize various classroom-based research data collection tools to gain a deeper understanding of student learning. Each tool provides unique insights and can be employed in different ways to enhance pedagogical practices. Some of the most commonly used tools, and examples of research studies using each, are below:
Surveys and questionnaires are effective ways to gather information about students' prior knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions. This data can help identify areas where students may struggle or need additional support, allowing faculty to tailor their teaching strategies accordingly.
Direct observation of classroom interactions and dynamics enables faculty to assess student engagement, participation, and understanding. Observations provide valuable information about instructional effectiveness and can identify areas for improvement or innovative teaching practices.
Engaging students in interviews or focus groups allows for in-depth exploration of their learning experiences, challenges, and perceptions. Through these conversations, we can gain valuable insights into students' thought processes, learning strategies, and the impact of instructional approaches on their learning.
Experiential learning: Exploring its long-term impact on socially responsible behavior.
Analyzing student work, such as assignments, projects, and presentations, alongside instructor artifacts like lesson plans and instructional materials, provides evidence of student learning outcomes and instructional effectiveness. It helps identify areas of improvement and align instructional strategies with desired learning objectives.
Student think-alouds: By asking students to verbalize their thought processes while working on specific tasks or assignments, faculty can gain insights into their problem-solving approaches, decision-making, and understanding. Think-aloud protocols can reveal misconceptions, cognitive strategies, and areas where students may need additional guidance.
Conducting case studies allows faculty to investigate specific instances of student learning in depth. This qualitative approach enables a comprehensive exploration of individual or group experiences, shedding light on factors that influence learning outcomes and providing rich narratives for analysis.
Exploring Students’ Online Learning Interaction Behaviors and Experiences: A Case Study
Although somewhat challenging to implement, quasi-experimental studies allow us examine the impact of specific teaching interventions or instructional approaches on student learning outcomes. By comparing different groups or conditions, we can assess the effectiveness of pedagogical strategies and make data-informed decisions.
By employing these classroom-based research data collection tools, faculty can gather valuable evidence about student learning. This data can inform instructional decisions, curriculum development, and the implementation of effective teaching practices that support and enhance student learning outcomes.
Homework
Ready to explore some SoTL research? Pick one of the above articles to read, and think about the following questions: If you wanted to do a similar study, what would it look like? How might you use these methods in your own context? What would you have to change to make it work?
Next week we will think about becoming a SoTL researcher. Questions? Suggestions? Leave a comment below!
