This information is provided to supplement what you learn and discuss in class. As definitions and perspectives vary, you may observe differences or contradictions that reflect ongoing scholarly conversations.
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is systematic inquiry into how learning happens. Educators apply research methods and theories informed by previous research on teaching & learning into their classroom, use their findings to inform their own teaching practices, and share their results with others in hopes of advancing research and practice in their communities.
The guide from Columbia below outlines a four-step process:
1. Asking questions about student learning and teaching activities that are designed to facilitate it.
2. Answering those questions by devising methods to make relevant student learning visible and measurable, gathering evidence of thinking and learning, and then systematically analyzing the evidence.
3. Sharing the results of that analysis publicly to invite peer review and to contribute to broader bodies of knowledge on student learning.
4. Aiming to improve student learning by strengthening the practice of one’s own teaching and that of others.
Click the links below to be taken to a slideshow to see this four-step process in action:
Example 1: HS librarian, AI, and Active Learning
Example 2: Chemistry Professor, free textbooks, content retention