scholarly journals Supporting SoTL Development through Communities of Practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 32-52
Author(s):  
Anne M. Tierney ◽  
Dorothy Aidulis ◽  
Julian Park ◽  
Katherine Clark
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
Home Institution ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Insight Into

Increasingly, academics are engaging with the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). However, within United Kingdom higher education, the definition of and activities that constitute SoTL remain open to debate. In this article, we explore SoTL through four career histories that give insight into how SoTL has developed and played a role in the careers of four life sciences-based, teaching-focused academics in UK universities at different points in their careers. The recurring themes in the career histories include collaboration; professional development; sharing and dissemination; and funding. The career histories also highlight aspects of and the importance of communities of practice. We reflect on the role of communities of practice in supporting SoTL and discuss how communities of practice external to one’s home institution can play a role in developing SoTL and teaching practice. Internationally there is a growing focus on SoTL, and although the four career histories presented here are authored by academics based in UK institutions and focused on the UK context, the themes they reveal are widely applicable.

scholarly journals The role of SoTL in the academy: Upon the 25th anniversary of Boyer’s Scholarship Reconsidered

2015 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beth Kern ◽  
Gwendolyn Mettetal ◽  
Marcia Dixson ◽  
Robin K. Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Teaching Process ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
25Th Anniversary ◽  
Teaching And Learning Research ◽  
Scholarly Teaching ◽  
Learning Research

This essay works toward two goals: 1) to provide an explanation of how the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning may work within all four of Boyer’s “scholarships” of discovery, integration, application, and teaching and 2) to clarify the distinctions between quality teaching and scholarship of teaching and learning research. To do that, we posit four quadrants of teaching practices based on two continuum: public/private and systematic/unsystematic. The four quadrants: teaching practice, shared teaching, scholarly teaching and, finally, scholarship of teaching and learning, provide academics with a conceptual model to distinguish various approaches to the teaching process from research into that process.

scholarly journals Communities of practice in life sciences and the need for brokering

F1000Research ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Tierney
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
National Level ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Annual Conference ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
The Uk

Etienne Wenger’s work on communities of practice is influential in teaching and learning in higher education. A core work of many postgraduate certificate in teaching and learning (PGCert) courses for new lecturers, it is studied, in the main, as a means to understand how to support and encourage students to achieve more effective learning. Communities of practice can also be applied to academics. In the context of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and its predecessors, the gulf between research-focused and teaching-Focused academics in life sciences has widened, so that in many institutions, these two groups have evolved into two distinct communities of practice; one whose priority is disciplinary research, the other’s learning and teaching. However, in 2015, the UK government announced that a Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) would be introduced into higher education in England, as early as 2017. While the exact details of TEF remain unclear, it is certain that “excellence” and “student satisfaction” will be high on the agenda. It is vital, therefore, that the two communities of practice, research-focused and teaching-focused, find ways to come together in order to ensure high quality teaching and learning. Wenger proposes that this can be done through the process of “brokering”, which allows expertise from both communities of practice to cross from one to the other, strengthening both. This should be encouraged at departmental and institutional level, but another vital origin of brokering can be forged at a(n) (inter)national level at meetings such as the SEB Annual Conference, where teaching-focused academics have the opportunity to mix with research-active colleagues. While this paper is informed by recent and current events in the UK Higher Education sector, it is of interest to academics who work in an environment where research and teaching have become separate to any extent.

scholarly journals Why do we bother? Exploring biologists' motivations to share the details of their teaching practice

F1000Research ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Graham Scott
Keyword(s):  
Career Paths ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Research ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Do So

There exists in the UK (and across the global HE sector) a community of practitioners who define themselves as biologists but who are more than that. They are reflective educators involving themselves in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). In this paper I explore the motivations of these individuals to disseminate the detail of their teaching practice. I reflect upon my own experience and my observations of the experiences of others and in doing so I explore common enablers/disablers to engagement with SoTL. I discuss the prime importance of a supportive disciplinary SoTL community and of inspirational individuals (peers and managers alike). I reflect upon the tensions that exist between teaching and research focused career paths and I consider the possibility that this tension is of variable significance. I conclude that the barriers to individual engagement with SoTL can be overcome and that the individual drive to do so is a powerful one.

scholarly journals Long COVID and the role of physical activity: a qualitative study

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. e047632
Author(s):  
Helen Humphreys ◽  
Laura Kilby ◽  
Nik Kudiersky ◽  
Robert Copeland
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Telephone Interviews ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Insight Into

ObjectivesTo explore the lived experience of long COVID with particular focus on the role of physical activity.DesignQualitative study using semistructured interviews.Participants18 people living with long COVID (9 men, 9 women; aged between 18–74 years; 10 white British, 3 white Other, 3 Asian, 1 black, 1 mixed ethnicity) recruited via a UK-based research interest database for people with long COVID.SettingTelephone interviews with 17 participants living in the UK and 1 participant living in the USA.ResultsFour themes were generated. Theme 1 describes how participants struggled with drastically reduced physical function, compounded by the cognitive and psychological effects of long COVID. Theme 2 highlights challenges associated with finding and interpreting advice about physical activity that was appropriately tailored. Theme 3 describes individual approaches to managing symptoms including fatigue and ‘brain fog’ while trying to resume and maintain activities of daily living and other forms of exercise. Theme 4 illustrates the battle with self-concept to accept reduced function (even temporarily) and the fear of permanent reduction in physical and cognitive ability.ConclusionsThis study provides insight into the challenges of managing physical activity alongside the extended symptoms associated with long COVID. Findings highlight the need for greater clarity and tailoring of physical activity-related advice for people with long COVID and improved support to resume activities important to individual well-being.

Mogućnosti primene istraživački zasnovane nastave (IN) u početnom matematičkom obrazovanju

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dragana Glogovac ◽  
◽  
Marina Milošević ◽  
Bojan Lazić ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Teaching Mathematics ◽  
Teaching Process ◽  
Inquiry Based Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning Mathematics ◽  
Learning Mathematics ◽  
Key Competencies ◽  
Insight Into

Modern primary education, especially mathematics, requires constant innovation of teaching practice in order to modernize, rationalize, and efficiently the teaching process. Teaching mathematics should be experienced as a process that promotes learning with understanding, stimulates motivation, active learning, research, critical thinking, analysis, problem solving, drawing conclusions, exchange of experiences. The tendency to improve the quality of mathematics education has resulted in many studies pointing to the benefits of research-based mathematics (IN) teaching, known as inquiry-based learning (IBL), recognized as an essential way of organizing the teaching process to develop key competencies, abilities and skills in 21st century. Тhe aim of this paper is to see, based on a comprehensive theoretical analysis and the results of previous research. The created model of teaching mathematics based on research represents a useful framework for improving the quality of the process of teaching and learning mathematics, and empowers teachers in its application and affirmation, gaining insight into the way of organizing research learning.

Science and Theology for Everyone: How Climate Science is Shaping Christianity in the UK

2021 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-157
Author(s):  
Caleb Gordon ◽  
Hannah Malcolm
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Christian Life ◽  
Ethical Problems ◽  
Technical Leadership ◽  
Science And Theology ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Insight Into

This article analyses the growing participation of UK Christians in climate initiatives over the last five years. In many cases, climate science is cited as a necessary consideration for the fulfilment of already-existing Christian commitments. This represents a significant shift in the ways UK Christians understand the role of dialogue between theology and the sciences; previous science and theology dialogue has usually been treated as an area of expert concern, primarily offering insight into apologetics or specific ethical problems. By contrast, the dialogue between climate science and theology has seen the emergence of non-technical leadership amid the expectation that climate science plays a critical role in re-examining the meaning of Christian life, both for individuals and as communities.

scholarly journals Food for all? Critically evaluating the role of the Incredible Edible movement in the UK

2019 ◽  
pp. 139-153
Author(s):  
Michael Hardman ◽  
Mags Adams ◽  
Melissa Barker ◽  
Luke Beesley
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Powerful Method ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Food Movement ◽  
The Town ◽  
Insight Into

With the concept of Urban Agriculture (UA) growing in popularity, more cities and towns are exploring opportunities to enable the practice and transform neglected spaces into havens for produce. This chapter provides an insight into one such town, Todmorden and its Incredible Edible movement, located in the heart of England. This chapter adopts a qualitative approach to critically exploring the IET movement and to understand its impact on Todmorden. We engaged with key actors and the public in order to ascertain views towards the schemes, analysing the positives and negatives of the model. Findings revealed that the scheme has an overwhelmingly positive impact on the town, with social, environmental and economic benefits. Furthermore, it was made clear that IET is helping to create a more just food movement in Todmorden, particularly through its free for all philosophy. However, some negatives were also highlighted during the course of the research, predominately around maintenance issues and a lack of perceived inclusivity in parts. Overall, the scheme was highly valued and seen as a powerful method for growing the wider UA movement; recommendations centred on further replicating the model and helping local food to prosper in similar locations globally.

scholarly journals Knowledge Transfer Openness Matrix Facilitating Accessibility in UK Management Education Teaching

2017 ◽  
pp. 230-252
Author(s):  
Jonathan D. Owens ◽  
Usman Talat
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Learning Technologies ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Uk Higher Education

This is an empirical investigation considering how the Knowledge Transfer Openness Matrix (KTOM) could facilitate accessibility and Knowledge Transfer (KT) for the UK Higher Education (HE) Management Education Teaching when utilising learning technologies. Its focus is where learning technologies applications currently assist the KT process and support accessibility for the HE teacher and learner. It considers the philosophy of openness, focusing on its usefulness to support accessibility within UK HE Management Education Teaching. It discusses how the openness philosophy may assist the KT process for the HE teacher and learners using learning technologies. In particular, the potential to support accessibility within HE Management Education Teaching environments is appraised. There appear several implications for both teachers and learners. These are characterized in the proposed KTOM. The matrix organises KT events based on the principles of the openness philosophy. The role of learning technologies in events is illustrated with regard to teaching and learning accessibility.

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