Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

What is Scholarship of Teaching and Learning?

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) refers to a diverse set of activities and methodologies exploring and promoting teaching and learning. It arises from the questions instructors naturally ask about the work they are doing in the classroom, such as:

• Did this particular teaching strategy work? Why or why not?
• Is the way I’m teaching helping my students learn better?
• What evidence is there to help me understand what students are learning?
• What evidence is there to connect their learning to my teaching?
• How can I share what I learn with my colleagues in my discipline and more broadly?

SoTL focuses on learning experiences, learning contexts and institutional policies and processes that support teaching excellence. When specific concerns of a discipline, its methodologies, and generalizabitliy are considered, instructors may be involved in Discipline-based Educational Research (DBER), which is most often associated with science and engineering.

Both SoTL and DBER move beyond scholarly teaching to the production of evidence for specific teaching and learning practices through findings that are peer reviewed and publicly disseminated. This research involves assessment of student learning.

CTLA Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Support

The CTLA supports SoTL through books groups, a SoTL Scholars in Practice Seminar and a SoTL Scholars Network. OHIO instructors engaging in SoTL are encouraged to contact the CTLA so that their scholarship is recognized both among network members and the broader teaching and learning community.

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Spotlights