The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Dewar ◽  
Curtis Bennett ◽  
Matthew A. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Junior Faculty ◽  
The United States ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
Inquiry Process ◽  
Collegiate Level ◽  
And Mathematics

This book is a guide to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) for scientists, engineers, and mathematicians teaching at the collegiate level in countries around the world. It shows instructors how to draw on their disciplinary knowledge and teaching experience to investigate questions about student learning. It takes them all the way through the inquiry process beginning with framing a research question and selecting a research design, moving on to gathering and analyzing evidence, and finally to making the results public. Numerous examples are provided at each stage, many from published studies of teaching and learning in science, engineering, or mathematics. At strategic points, short sets of questions prompt readers to pause and reflect, plan, or act. These questions are derived from the authors’ experience leading many SoTL workshops in the United States and Canada. The taxonomy of SoTL questions—What works? What is? What could be?—that emerged from the SoTL studies undertaken by the Carnegie scholars provides a useful framework at many stages of the inquiry process. The book addresses the issue of evaluating and valuing this work, including implications for junior faculty who wish to engage in SoTL. The authors explain why SoTL should be of interest to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty at all types of institutions, including faculty members active in traditional STEM research. They also give their perspective on the benefits of SoTL to faculty, to their institutions, to the academy, and to students.

Evidence: From Surveys

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline M. Dewar
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
What Works ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Course Material ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Knowledge Survey

Chapter 5 describes the use of surveys in scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) studies. Topics include how to design a survey, the reliability and validity of surveys, and response rates and how to improve them. The chapter also includes a detailed discussion of a special type of survey called a knowledge survey that is used to measure students’ confidence in their knowledge of disciplinary content. Multiple uses for knowledge surveys are described: a means to assess changes in student learning, a way to improve course organization and coordination across multiple sections, and as guide through the course material for students. The importance of a survey being a good match for the type of research question—What works? What is? What could be?—is emphasized. Many examples are given of studies of student learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields that employed surveys.

Understanding the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline M. Dewar
Keyword(s):  
Education Research ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Junior Faculty ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
Undergraduate Teaching ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Scholarly Teaching ◽  
And Mathematics

Chapter 1 describes the origins of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) movement and explores the distinctions among SoTL, good teaching, and scholarly teaching. It also discusses the development of discipline-based education research (DBER) into undergraduate teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Since this varies by discipline, the chapter provides some details and additional references for the origins of DBER in physics, biology, chemistry, and engineering. It then examines in more depth the distinctions between SoTL and education research in the discipline of mathematics. The chapter discusses the critical issue of how to evaluate SoTL work. It acknowledges the spectrum of possibilities for how the work is valued for tenure and promotion, and closes with a discussion of implications for junior faculty who wish to engage in SoTL.

Resources and practices to help graduate students and postdoctoral fellows write statements of teaching philosophy

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine D. Kearns ◽  
Carol Subiño Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Junior Faculty ◽  
The United States ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Teaching Philosophy ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
The Many ◽  
Faculty Mentors

students and postdoctoral fellows currently encounter requests for a statement of teaching philosophy in at least half of academic job announcements in the United States. A systematic process for the development of a teaching statement is required that integrates multiple sources of support, informs writers of the document's purpose and audience, helps writers produce thoughtful statements, and encourages meaningful reflection on teaching and learning. This article for faculty mentors and instructional consultants synthesizes practices for mentoring graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty members as they prepare statements of teaching philosophy. We review background information on purposes and audiences, provide writing resources, and synthesize empirical research on the use of teaching statements in academic job searches. In addition, we integrate these resources into mentoring processes that have helped graduate students in a Health Sciences Pedagogy course to collaboratively and critically examine and write about their teaching. This summary is intended for faculty mentors and instructional consultants who want to refine current resources or establish new mentoring programs. This guide also may be useful to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty members, especially those who lack mentoring or who seek additional resources, as they consider the many facets of effective teaching.

Looking at Our STEM Teacher Workforce: How to Model Self-Efficacy

2020 ◽  
pp. 089124242097375
Author(s):  
Brandon Ofem ◽  
Samuel J. Polizzi ◽  
Gregory T. Rushton ◽  
Michael Beeth ◽  
Brock Couch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Turnover ◽  
Cognitive Approach ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
Teacher Workforce ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Stem Teacher

There is currently a severe shortage of teachers in the U.S. workforce. The problem is especially acute among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers and exacerbated by high turnover among new teachers—those with less than 5 years of teaching experience. In this article, the authors investigate one piece of the puzzle. The authors model a social cognitive approach to understanding self-efficacy, a key precursor to job performance and retention. Their interactionist approach accounts for both demographic (i.e., gender and age) and relational variables (i.e., social networks). The authors test their ideas on a sample of 159 STEM teachers across five geographic regions in the United States. Their analysis reveals patterned differences in self-efficacy across gender that are contingent on the communities of practice in which the teachers are embedded. Together, their theory and findings highlight the value of taking a holistic, interactionist view in explaining STEM teacher self-efficacy.

scholarly journals Developing Faculty Communities of Practice to Expand the Use of Effective Pedagogical Techniques

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Hoyert ◽  
Cynthia O'Dell
Keyword(s):  
Student Success ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
First Year ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
Pedagogical Techniques ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Faculty Group

The scholarship of teaching and learning literature is replete with examples of pedagogical techniques that have been demonstrated to be effective in improving learning, motivation, and student success. The extension of these techniques beyond the original context has tended to be slow, difficult, and incomplete. The following paper examines an intervention designed to encourage the exploration and use of a variety of pedagogical techniques by faculty in a traditional, four-year college faculty within the context of the AASCU Re-imagining the First Year Initiative. Small groups of six to eight faculty, joined and created communities of practice. The groups were known as Pedagogical Interest Groups, or PIGs for short. The faculty read about and analyzed a series of pedagogical techniques and committed to introducing at least one technique into their courses to further explore the techniques. When the techniques were successful, the faculty members redesigned entire classes to expand the impact. The communities of practice were successful in encouraging faculty to explore a wide variety of techniques. The average faculty group explored eight different pedagogical techniques. Faculty were able to use the opportunity to experiment with techniques with the support from their colleagues in their PIG. A dozen techniques were explored across the PIGs and dozens of class sections have been completely redesigned. To date, over 2000 students have experienced redesigned courses. Measures of student success, satisfaction, and interest in those sections have increased. The effort has been accompanied by a robust increase in the campus-wide retention rates. ​

The Possibility of Promotion: How Race and Gender Predict Promotion Clarity for Associate Professors

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (5) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Amanda M. Kulp ◽  
Lisa E. Wolf-Wendel ◽  
Daryl G. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Research Question ◽  
The United States ◽  
Associate Professor ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Full Professor ◽  
National Study ◽  
Institutional Characteristics ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Underrepresented Minority

Background/Context The research on promotion to full professor is sparse. Research that does exist has largely emerged from single campuses and studies conducted through disciplinary associations. Extant studies strongly suggest the presence of equity issues in advancement throughout the academic pipeline. Our study uses cross-institutional results to offer analysis of and potential solutions for the problem. Purpose/Objective/Research Question We explore the extent to which tenured faculty members at four-year postsecondary institutions are clear about their prospects of being promoted to full professor and how their background characteristics, institutional characteristics, and satisfaction with various aspects of academic work predict their perceptions of promotion clarity. We are focused on whether cultural taxation in the form of heavy service and advis-ing—often associated with underrepresented minority faculty and women faculty—is a factor. We examine the influence of ideal-worker norms and work/family demands on perceptions of promotion clarity. Lastly, we focus on the structural elements of the academy to frame the topic, rather than focusing on individual agency. Population/Participants/Subjects This study uses data from the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) survey, a large, national study of postsecondary faculty. Our sample consists of 3,246 individuals who held full-time, tenured positions as associate professor at four-year institutions when they responded to the surveys between 2010 and 2012. The sample was roughly divided between males (54%) and females (46%), and most faculty were employed at research institutions (59%). The sample was predominantly White (82%). The characteristics of the associate professors in the sample are representative of the larger U.S. faculty population at the time of the survey. Research Design This quantitative study uses descriptive statistics to examine patterns in promotion clarity across various demographic and institutional characteristics. We examine how satisfaction variables intersect with perceptions of promotion clarity for associate professors. Then we conduct a series of linear regression analyses to explore the influence of predictors on associate professors’ sense of clarity about promotion. Conclusions/Recommendations Being unclear about expectations of promotion to full professor is clearly of concern to faculty members at four-year universities in the United States, but it is especially of concern to women. Satisfaction with service is a very important variable in predicting perceptions of promotion clarity. For all associate professors, working at certain types of institutions or in particular academic disciplines had an inverse relationship with promotion clarity. The factors associated with lack of clarity about promotion are more structural than individual.

Insights into Teachers’ Experiences Implementing Garden-Based Learning: Characterizing the Relationship between the Teacher and the Curriculum

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (9) ◽  
pp. 1-36
Author(s):  
Sarah J. Selmer ◽  
Melissa J. Luna ◽  
James A. Rye
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research Question ◽  
The United States ◽  
Teacher Participation ◽  
Curriculum Materials ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
Teachers Experiences

Background/Context This study seeks insights into teachers’ experiences implementing Garden-Based Learning (GBL) in an elementary school. The breadth of studies supporting the use of GBL in K–8 schools in the United States alongside the paucity of studies specific to teachers’ experiences implementing GBL highlights the importance of this work. Purpose Our study uses Remillard's framework for characterizing and studying teachers’ interactions with curriculum materials specifically in the context of GBL. We believe that exploring the dynamic relationship between teachers and a GBL curriculum may help those involved in supporting teachers in implementing GBL to gain a deeper understanding of the complexity of the teacher/GBL curriculum relationship. This research examined teachers’ GBL implementation experiences in order to answer the following research question: How do we describe and characterize teachers’ interactions with GBL curriculum materials? Research Design Twenty teachers employed from one elementary school were interviewed using a semistructured task-based protocol resulting in a teacher-created diagram of supports and challenges he/she encountered while implementing GBL over the past year. The diagram was used as a tool to stimulate and access teachers’ thinking about these supports and challenges in order to provide insight into the teacher and curricular resources at play when implementing GBL. Findings/Results Using a grounded theory analysis of each participant's diagram, we characterized each teacher's participatory relationship with GBL. We found 13% of supports and challenges elicited from all teachers had a teaching and learning focus. On an individual level, supports and challenges had a substantial teaching and learning focus for only two teachers. Thirteen teachers were characterized as having a pragmatic focus. Of the seven teachers characterized to have an experiential focus: supports and challenges focused more so on what students were doing for four teachers and more so on what teachers were doing for three teachers. Conclusions/Recommendations We used Remillard's framework to investigate and characterize the participatory relationship between teachers and the GBL curriculum. The resulting characterizations provide insight for supporting GBL teacher learning contexts and will help guide future research. Based on this study, it is critical that individuals involved in educational change continue trying to understand and develop spaces for teacher learning. These spaces should move beyond traditional professional development focused on teacher participation toward experiences focused on teacher learning within and across their teaching contexts.

scholarly journals Starting Out: The Dilemma of the Beginning College Astronomy Teacher

1990 ◽  
Vol 105 ◽  
pp. 73-76
Author(s):  
Harry L. Shipman
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
New Teacher ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
College Professors ◽  
Vast Literature ◽  
College Astronomy ◽  
Astronomical Research ◽  
Department Chairman

Most beginning college professors in the United States receive little if any help in the important task of learning how to teach well. Occasionally, a colleague or department chairman can provide some guidance, but in general most American college faculty are taught how to teach by the “sink or swim” method. There are many resources that can help the new professor swim, rather than sink, but in my case at least, I found out about them many years after I needed them the most. This paper will identify some of the literature, journals, and on-campus facilities that can help both new and experienced faculty members develop and hone teaching skills.The literature on teaching and learning is vast. Fortunately, the new teacher need not spend years becoming an expert on this literature; much of it is like the astronomical research literature in that it is full of jargon and it requires some expertise to distill useful, easily implementable ideas from it. Fortunately, there are a few (too few!) books that distill this vast literature into practical advice from it.

Building Faculty SoTL Skills Through a Multi- and Interdisciplinary Writing Community of Practice

2020 ◽  
pp. 78-95
Author(s):  
Sandra Sgoutas-Emch ◽  
Judith Liu ◽  
Moriah Meyskens ◽  
Tara Ceranic Salinas ◽  
Jane Friedman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Learning Community ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Strategic Plan ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
Educational Excellence ◽  
Writing Community ◽  
Over Time

Cultivating a community of faculty to support Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) work at universities can be challenging. There are many obstacles to overcome—obstacles such as how to sustain such efforts over time. The Center for Educational Excellence set out to design a strategic plan designed to address certain barriers to SoTL work and to create a long-standing community of practice for a SoTL group of faculty members—a group that has lasted over nine years to date. This chapter outlines strategies employed over the years and the evolution of the interdisciplinary group from a learning community to community of practice. The stories of past and present members are included along with advice on how others may have successful programs at their universities.

scholarly journals Navigating the Lows to Gain New Heights: Constraints to SoTL Engagement

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea S. Webb
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Educational Leadership ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Educational Leaders ◽  
Academic Culture ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
Promotion And Tenure ◽  
Scholarly Teaching ◽  
Canadian Research

Novice Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) leaders making the transition from scholarly teaching to SoTL to SoTL Leadership face many challenges within higher education. Not only does traditional academic culture confine most academics to disciplinary silos, but promotion and tenure requirements encourage faculty members to conduct SoTL work “off the side of their desk,” if at all (Boyer, 1990; Dobbins, 2008; Webb, Wong, & Hubball, 2013). This paper shares some of the findings from a recent study that investigated what constrained educational leaders’ understanding of SoTL while enrolled in a SoTL Leadership program at a Canadian research-intensive university. The paper will also explore implications for the support and enrichment of educational leadership.

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