Criterion 5
Good practice guides and other resources
Criterion 5: Integration of scholarship, research and professional activities with teaching and in support of learning.
Bishop-Clark, K., & Dietz-Uhler, B. (2012). Engaging in the scholarship of teaching and learning; a guide to the process and how to develop a project from start to finish [Book]. Virginia, United States of America: Stylus Publishing.
This book is an excellent practical guide to scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) research. It will be especially useful for new scholars, but includes enough detail to extend more experienced SoTL researchers. The authors draw from their experience of running successful SoTL workshops at their institution for over 5 years. They provide a brief overview of their own SoTL journey and the value, definitions and history of SoTL research. They then guide the reader through the 5 steps of SoTL research; generating a research question, designing the study, collecting the data, analysing the data and presenting and publishing the project. Examples of actual SoTL studies are used to illustrate each step. Blank worksheets and completed examples are also provided for each stage of the process to help the reader refine their ideas
Chick, N. A scholarly approach to teaching and learning: Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching.
This introductory guide is divided into two sections. The first section, ‘Understanding SoTL’ provides an overview of what SoTL research involves, its origin and its value. The second section, ‘Doing SoTL’ consists of ‘how to guides’ centred around specific aspects of SoTL research, such as getting started, ethical research, project design, analysing data and going public with your results. Within the ‘Doing SoTL’ guides, links to pdfs, provide further instructions and some examples. This guide is best suited to those beginning SoTL research.
Griffith University. Good practice guides.
- Public scholarship; what is it and how do I integrate it into my curriculum
This guide provides a brief background to public scholarship, why it should be incorporated into curriculum and the benefits to students and academics. Strategies for engaging in public scholarship and for integrating scholarship into the curriculum are suggested. - Research-based learning; strategies linking teaching and research
Describes the benefits of research-based learning to the student and a variety of approaches that can be used to link teaching and research. - Work-integrated learning (WIL); designing and implementing WIL curricula Describes why and how workplace experience and disciplinary knowledge and practice can be integrated into teaching.
- Scholarship of learning and teaching (SOLT)
This guide explains how teachers should and can engage in SOLT, examples of areas that might be explored and a case study of the SOLT cycle at Griffith; what they did, what they found, what they changed and how the finds were disseminated.
Orrell, J. (2011). Good practice report: Work-integrated learning: Australian Learning and Teaching Council.
A useful directory of good practice in work integrated learning. Projects from a wide range of disciplines and universities are featured in the report and a review of the literature that identifies the challenges and benefits associated with work integrated learning and gaps in research. Clearly outlines features/principles of good practice that are necessary to ensure that work integrated learning benefits learners and other stakeholders.
Science Education Resource Centre, Carlton College. (2010). How to engage undergraduates in research. Starting point; teaching entry level geoscience.
This guide describes the key steps involved in creating a successful undergraduate research experience. The guide covers topics such as; identifying learning objectives, choosing the form and intensity of the research experience, determining project needs, setting expectations, structuring the critical elements, providing support, assessment and dissemination.
Darden, A. (2003) Integrating research and teaching heightens value to and of undergraduates. ASM News, 69 (7), pp. 331 – 335.
In this article, associate professor, Alix Darden, explains how engaging microbiology students in research and other non-traditional learning activities enhanced their academic progress whilst also reducing her workload. Dissatisfied with the passive role of students in the learning process, Alix incorporated more active learning activities into her teaching, involving students in research and other non-traditional learning activities such as laboratory preparation and proof reading research grants. She also discusses the challenges associated with balancing teaching, research and other service responsibilities; and how consciously aligning course content and her research objectives was mutually beneficial to both her teaching and research.
Journals
International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning (ISETL) and the Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research (CIDER). (2013). International journal of teaching and learning in higher education: Virginia Tech.
This open access journal is aimed at improving higher education pedagogy and scholarship of teaching and learning across diverse content areas, educational institutions, and levels of instructional expertise. Individual articles or entire issues are free to download in pdf format to maximise global distribution. All manuscripts are refereed (blind) using a peer-review process involving at least two reviewers.
International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. (2013). Teaching & Learning Inquiry.
This biannual publication is a source of insightful research, theory, commentary, and other scholarly works that document or facilitate investigations of teaching and learning in higher education. The publishers report that quality and variety is central to their vision, thus the journal showcases scholarship of teaching and learning across disciplines, teaching contexts and career stages. Access is by subscription.
Videos
International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL) & The Center for Engaged Learning. (2013). Scholarship of Teaching and Learning vs. Scholarly Teaching: Elon University.
In this video academics explain their ideas about what constitutes scholarly teaching vs. the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). They discuss their definitions of each, the differences and where they overlap.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eedxoj1CPnk[/youtube]
International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL) & The Center for Engaged Learning. (2013). Key Characteristics of SOTL: Elon University.
Academics discuss what they see as the key characteristics of SoTL research. For example, they discuss SoTL as bringing research to teaching; applying the skills of questioning, testing and evaluating from research to teaching to improve student learning. Perceptions about the importance of going public to SoTL are also discussed, and whether methodology should be guided by what best fits the research question or by the experience of the researcher, i.e. the methodology they know best from their usual discipline.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvDKHHyx7YY[/youtube]