Overview of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
The concept of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) is variously defined as teaching as scholarly work, evidence-based methods to study effective teaching and student learning, and systematic research and dissemination about teaching and learning (Boyer, 1990; Shulman, 2012). SoTL projects can include reports on particular classes (e.g., something that has worked well at improving student learning); reflective essays, summaries, or integrations of scholarship on teaching; comparisons of courses or student change across time; and more formal research (e.g., experimental designs, meta-analyses). Among the goals of these kinds of projects are to assess the efficacy of instructional techniques, determine the best practices for the use of specific tools (such as instructional technologies), and make recommendations for improvement in higher education teaching and learning.
SoTL projects are combinations of teaching and research. These projects assume that research on teaching and learning activities is as scholarly as the discipline-specific research that faculty conduct in their labs or in the field (Boyer, 1990). The typical SoTL project begins by identifying unique and innovative techniques, tools, and activities that teachers are using (or would like to use) in their classes. Then, the researchers determine the state of the teaching and research literature with respect to the use of these techniques or activities, either within their disciplines or outside them. Finally, they publish their findings and make recommendations to further the study of the particular teaching technique or activity. A crucial component of SoTL work is to assess the effectiveness of these techniques or activities, typically by using objective and faculty/student perception data. There is a large literature on the effectiveness of SoTL, including how this approach can be used to meet challenges and facilitate positive change among institutions of higher education (e.g., Ginsberg & Bernstein, 2012; Hutchings, Huber, & Ciccone, 2011; Mårtensson, Roxå, & Olsson, 2011).