The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Tutorial    |   Translations    |  Regional Links   |    SOTL Publications   |    ISSOTL Affiliates and Interest Groups

A Tutorial on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Supported by the Campus Program of the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, this tutorial was developed by Indiana University Bloomington and Samuel Thompson.  (For most effective viewing, use the latest [free] version of Quicktime.)

Translating "the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning" for an International Society

ISSOTL members can assist in this need to understand the language used in various world regions by developing the Wikipedia entry on the "scholarship of teaching and learning."  The ISSOTL Board considered developing a wiki for the Society, but the philosophy and popularity of Wikipedia may help us reach wider audiences.  We envision subheadings for each region or country with the terms, definitions, and concepts essential to this work, as well as connections to those used in other regions. 

Western Kentucky University's Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching offers a chart of "English Variations in Education Terms"--specifically terms for persons in education, organized groups, learning, measurement, and recognition of learning in Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the USA.

Regional SOTL Links
Australasian Countries   |   Canada   |   European Countries   |  USA

Send links (ideally with brief annotations) to Nancy.Chick@uwc.edu.

Links from Australasia Countries

• Australian Scholarship in Teaching Project
• Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education
• Higher Education Research and  Development Society of Australasia
• Uniserve Science
• Australian Universities Quality Agency
• Australian College of Educators
• Education Network Australia

Links from Canada

Links from European Countries

• Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL)
• HEFCE Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund
• Higher Education Academy (includes resources from former ILTHE and LTSN)
  • Fund for Development of Teaching and Learning
  • Linking research and teaching
  • National Teaching Fellowship Scheme
  • Research and Scholarship
  • Subject Network
  • Supporting New Academic Staff (SNAS)
  • The UK Professional Standards
• London SOTL 6^th Annual International Conference
• Deliberations on Learning and Teaching in Higher Education
• Quality Assurance Agency

Links from the United States

• Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching: Founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1905 and chartered in 1906 by an act of Congress, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching is an independent policy and research center with a primary mission "to do and perform all things necessary to encourage, uphold, and dignify the profession of the teacher and the cause of higher education."
• The Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CASTL) Higher Education Program: CASTL represents a major initiative of The Carnegie Foundation. Launched in 1998, the program builds on a conception of teaching as scholarly work proposed in the 1990 report Scholarship Reconsidered and on the 1997 follow-up publication Scholarship Assessed.  CASTL seeks to support the development of a scholarship of teaching and learning that: 1) fosters significant, long-lasting learning for all students; 2) enhances the practice and profession of teaching; 3) brings to faculty members' work as teachers the recognition and reward afforded to other forms of scholarly work. 
• University of Wisconsin System Leadership Site for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: This online resource center provides answers to some frequently asked questions, information on how to conduct SOTL research, and links to other resources for undertaking a SOTL project.
• Vanderbilt Center for Teaching's SOTL page: A good resource for those interested in SOTL, includes a brief essay titled "What Is SOTL?", links to examples of SOTL projects, resources on conducting and going public with SOTL work, an annotated list of national and campus SOTL initiatives, and an annotated bibliography.
• Clark Atlanta University's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning's SOTL Resource Packet: This packet offers a useful bibliography and some worksheets to help guide introductory SOTL projects.

SOTL Publications
Journals    |    Online Tools & Outlets   |    Lists of SOTL Publications   |    Resources about SOTL Publishing

Journals

• International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning:  An international, peer-reviewed, open access eJournal that is published by the Center for Excellence in Teaching at Georgia Southern University (Statesboro, Georgia, USA).  The Editorial Review Board is very international and issues contain research articles, essays, personal reflections, as well as invited essays on SOTL.  IJ-SOTL has the vision of being a dynamic international SOTL journal by being an advocate, agent and crucible for international conversations, contacts and work on SOTL.  There is an IJ-SOTL listserv for discussion of any and all things connected with SOTL.
• MountainRise:  An open, peer-reviewed, international electronic journal published twice a year by the Coulter Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning at Western Carolina University  (USA) for the purpose of being an international vehicle for SOTL.
• The Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning:  Designed to encourage all instructors to engage in the discussion of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and to become involved in the sharing of knowledge and learning about the teaching-learning process. Any report about an investigation into what works (or doesn't work) for a particular teaching-learning context will be considered for publication. Those submissions that include reflective commentary about the result of the investigation will be considered of greater value to our readership and more appealing for publication. The journal shall also consider submissions that offer opinion, thoughtful reflection, commentary, or theoretical ideas related to SOTL.
• Active Learning in Higher Education: an international, refereed publication for all those who teach and support learning in Higher Education and those who undertake or use research into effective learning, teaching and assessment in universities and colleges. The journal has an objective of improving the status of teaching and learning support as professional activity and embraces academic practice across all curriculum areas in higher education.
• College Teaching: an interdisciplinary forum on issues related to teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels. This journal is interested in articles that explore: (1) aims and outcomes of teaching philosophy and practices that have significance beyond a specific discipline, including teaching of techniques, new classroom procedures, evaluations of innovative programs, and examination of contemporary developments; (2) teachers' roles, education, professional development, preparation to teach, and evaluation; and (3) incentives that encourage good teaching and ways good teaching is evaluated and rewarded.
• Arts and Humanities in Higher Education: Publishes articles, reviews and scholarly comment relating to the arts and humanities in higher education serving the community of arts and humanities educators internationally. Expertly edited, rigorously peer-reviewed and with a truly international outlook and application, the journal publishes significant opinion and research into contemporary issues of teaching and learning critical to all educators and researchers in this far-ranging area.
• Teaching in Higher Education: an international, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal that addresses the roles of teaching, learning and the curriculum in higher education in order to explore and clarify the intellectual challenges which they present. The journal aims to open up discussion across subject areas by involving all those who share an enthusiasm for learning and teaching.
• Academic Exchange Quarterly:  an independent, double-blind-peer reviewed journal that publishes research, commentary, and other manuscripts that contribute to effective instruction and learning
• inventio:  From George Mason University (Virginia, USA), the journal began as part of the Carnegie Foundation's Teaching Academy program and invited contributors to address definitions of the scholarship of teaching and looked at ways that campus practices, policies, and conditions work for or against a scholarship of teaching.  Regular issues feature peer-reviewed articles on instructional research, instructional philosophy, pedagogy, learning theory, and other significant issues related to excellence in learning and teaching. In addition to these feature articles, inventio also includes shorter articles on classroom practice and response and dialog sections about issues raised in the feature articles. 
• Journal on Excellence in College Teaching: a peer-reviewed journal published at Miami University by and for faculty at universities and two- and four-year colleges to increase student learning through effective teaching, interest in and enthusiasm for the profession of teaching, and communication among faculty about their classroom experiences. t answers Ernest Boyer's (1990) call for a forum to present the scholarship of teaching and learning. The Journal provides a scholarly, written forum for discussion by faculty about all areas affecting teaching and learning, and gives faculty the opportunity to share proven, innovative pedagogies and thoughtful, inspirational insights about teaching.
• Journal of Cognitive Affective Learning: A peer-reviewed, open-access journal devoted to the dissemination of high quality research, theories, and best educational practices that advance our understanding of the connection between the cognitive and affective in teaching and learning.
• The National Teaching and Learning Forum: published six times per year, NTLF essays range from research-based pieces on learning to summaries of on-going problems 
• Check your disciplinary societies for pedagogical journals.
• See the more comprehensive Lists of SOTL Publications collected below.

Online Tools & Outlets

• KEEP Toolkit:  the Knowledge Media Lab's set of web-based tools that help teachers, students, and institutions quickly create compact and engaging knowledge representations on the Web, in partnership with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Learning
• Peer Review of Teaching Project:  an international repository for course portfolios written by faculty who teach at postsecondary institutions.  Housed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Archive a course portfolio on this site so it can be shared, used, and reviewed by other faculty. You're also encouraged to write a review for any of the course portfolios in the repository.
• Visible Knowledge Project's Poster Tool:  VKP collects, designs, and publishes in new media environments a variety of resources to further the scholarship of teaching and learning among Project participants and the interested public. 

Lists of SOTL Publications

• Illinois State University's Collection of SOTL Publishing Outlets (Frequently updated list of core SOTL journals & discipline-specific listings)
• Indiana University's List of SOTL Books and Journals and Selected Library Resources (including search tips from librarians)
• Buffalo State University's List of SOTL Publishing Outlets (annotated list)
• Abilene Christian University's List of SOTL Periodicals (general and discipline-specific lists)
• Northern Kentucky State University's Professional & Organizational Development Center's List of SOTL Journals (General and Discipline-Specific)
• University of Wisconsin System Leadership Site for SOTL Resource Center (browse or search, in alphabetical order)

Resources about SOTL Publishing

• "Getting SOTL Articles Published--A Few Tips" by Kathleen McKinney: A list of suggestions from her experience both as an author submitting to refereed journals and as a past editor of Teaching Sociology

ISSOTL Affiliates and Interest Groups

• History SoTL:  ISSOTL's first external affiliate group formed through converging interests of historians in Britain, Australia, Sweden, and the United States at ISSOTL 2006 in Washington, D.C.