A Metaperspective

Boyer coined the term “scholarship of teaching” more than ten years ago. The American Association of Higher Education (AAHE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching have conducted initiatives to advance this scholarship for several years. As a result, a continuum of experience levels is now evident among academicians. At the alpha end of the continuum, people have heard the term but are unsure what it means. These need perhaps a glossary and basic grounding in the key developments over the last decade. In the middle are people who may have launched campus initiatives or may be wondering whether particular issues and projects could result in scholarly products. At the Omega end, those at the “cutting edge” of SOTL endeavor to construct and validate developmental processes as sustainable bridges to carry faculty from initial interest to stages of productivity that achieve goals and count in reward systems.

This tutorial addresses the whole continuum of SOTL experience from “Alpha to Omega.” The three sections of the continuum correspond to the three units of this tutorial and each phrase names a module … so two modules per unit, six total. The first unit, features essential definitions, concepts, rationale and other background.

The second unit features administrative “how to” and examples of campus programs as well as faculty projects.

The third unit provides some research essentials to permit viewers to launch their own projects. The “metaperspective” afforded in considering the whole continuum permits viewers to structure their own projects and campus initiatives.