Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Encouraging evidence-informed practice and SoTL is a key long-term priority for BILT.
Key principles of good practice in SoTL (Felten, 2013)
- Inquiry focused on student learning
- Grounded in context (i.e. grounded in relevant theory/research and the learning context)
- Methodologically sound (see useful evaluation resources below)
- Conducted in partnership with students
- Appropriately public (to enable colleagues to critique and use your work)
Examples of SoTL
- Critically reflecting on your practice (drawing on evidence from literature and from your students) in order to develop and improve your teaching
- Undertaking a project to investigate/innovate in learning and teaching (e.g. through the university’s PGCAP (see a blog post from one such project), BILT projects)
- Sharing your practice/publishing project results via a case study, blog, conference paper or presentation, journal article etc
Other scholarly activity to develop learning and teaching beyond your own practice
- Externally funded projects (e.g. through SRHE, Advance HE, UKRI)
- Wider research into learning and educational practice, including publishing in relevant journals (e.g. Studies in Higher Education, Higher Education or discipline-focused pedagogic journals)
- Contributing to/leading professional development activities for example workshops, education conference presentations – within and outside the university
- Contributing to educational initiatives within the university (e.g. as a mentor or assessor for the CREATE HEA Fellowship Scheme, as a digital champion, progressing sustainability or decolonisation initiatives) or outside the university (e.g. through disciplinary/professional associations)
- Contributing to educational publications e.g. as an editor, a peer reviewer
Useful evaluation resources
Cleaver, E., Lintern, M. and McLinden, M., 2018. Teaching and learning in higher education: Disciplinary approaches to educational enquiry. Sage.
Cousin, G., 2009. Researching learning in higher education: An introduction to contemporary methods and approaches. Routledge.
References
Felten, P., 2013. Principles of good practice in SoTL. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 1(1), pp.121-125.
Martin, E., Benjamin, J., Prosser, M., and Trigwell, K. (1998). Scholarship of teaching: A study of the approaches of academic staff. Paper presented at the 6th Improving Student Learning Symposium, Brighton, UK