Transcript GETTING STARTED IN SOTL Jennifer Friberg, Ed.D. Bradley University Fall Forum August, 2015

GETTING STARTED IN SOTL
Jennifer Friberg, Ed.D.
Bradley University Fall Forum
August, 2015
Goals for this session:
Participants will:
 Learn how to construct a SoTL research
question
 Review methods to collect data on
measurable outcomes
 Discuss ways to share SoTL work
 Consider value of SoTL work for meritorious
purposes
Quick Introductions
 BRIEF introductions 
 Name
 Department
 Experience with SoTL
Calibration: What is SoTL?
Focused on
improving
teaching or
learning
Disseminated
beyond
researcher
Systematic
examination
Scholarship
of Teaching
and
Learning
Where Do SoTL Questions Come From?
 Your own teaching and learning questions,
quandaries, and wonderments
 Published SoTL research
 From application or questioning of relevant
theory.
 From reflections and conversations with
others.
Common Questions Answered by SoTL
(Hutchings, 2000)

What is questions investigate the student
experience.
 How do students perceive their experience in a service
learning project?

What works questions investigate the
effectiveness of various pedagogical approaches.
 Does the use of directed journal reading help students
comprehend research better?

Visions of the possible relate to wonderments
about “what if I tried this?”
 How can student voices be better represented in SoTL?
Writing a SoTL Research Question
 What in your current teaching life could serve as
the basis for a SoTL research project?
 Are your reflections based on:
 Change in teaching over time?
 Assessing similarities or differences across disciplines in
terms of teaching and learning?
 A desire to assess the effectiveness of a curricular
program?
 Are your concerns based on:
 an individual course?
 a sequence of courses?
 interactions across courses?
 Perceived student needs?
Let’s draft a SoTL research
question…
 Do you have a reflection or concern to
harness as a potential research question?
 Take a moment and record an idea or two to
build on…
 Share your topic/question with those around
you
How do we measure SoTL research
outcomes? (McKinney, 2013)
indirect
growth measures
static
multiple methods
single
organic
existing
qualitative
quantitative
direct
What sort of data can be used
with SOTL research?
 Specific data sources could include:
 Course portfolios
 Specific assignments/projects/assessments (or
artifacts therein)
 Interviews
 Focus groups
 Questionnaires/surveys
 Content analysis
 Multi-method studies
Revisiting your SoTL question…
 What method or methods could help you
collect the best data to answer your
question?
 How might your eventual audience impact
your decision to utilize a particular
methodology to address your SoTL question?
SoTL Dissemination Outlets
 Most common outlets include:
 Cross-disciplinary SoTL research journals
 e.g., International Journal for the Scholarship of
Teaching and Learning
 Disciplinary pedagogical journals
 e.g., Journal of Marketing Education
 SoTL and disciplinary research conferences
 e.g., Lilly conferences, ISSOTL, AERA
 SoTL/pedagogical blogs
 e.g., The Teaching Professor, The SoTL Advocate,
Learning with Metacognition
Considerations for New SoTL
Researchers
 IRB construction/approval
 Exempt/non-exempt status
 Confidentiality/anonymity
 Coercion
 Teacher as researcher
 Need for advocacy
Valuable SoTL Resources
 Carnegie Foundation
 Illinois State University SoTL website
 Twitter/Facebook
 Chronicle, Inside Higher Ed
 Blogs
 Conferences
 Local, regional, national, international
 Colleagues 
What are your
questions about
SoTL after our
time together
today?