Assessing the impact of educational development through the lens of the scholarship of teaching and learning

Abstract

The scholarship of teaching and learning is highlighted within this chapter as one approach for educational developers to use in examining the impact of their practice at a programmatic and institutional level.

An Exploration of the Scholarly Foundations of Educational Development

“…As educational developers, we must continuously engage in the scholarship of our own practice (Brew, 2010;Hoessler, Britnell & Stockley, 2010) and rigorously study the impact of our work, especially at the more distal levels of the framework presented in Table 8.2. Doing so helps us better understand how, if at all, we are meeting our primary mission-that of enhancing teaching and learning in higher education.…”

Drawing on the Principles of SoTL to Illuminate a Path Forward for the Scholarship of Educational Development

“…The resulting extended set of seven principles informing SoED, SoTL, and educational development are presented in Table 1. Extending the foundation of Felten's (2013) five principles of SoTL, we add two indicators of purpose (transforming practice and reflective practice), which are consistently emphasized in scholarly literature related to the broad intentions of SoTL, educational development practice, and SoED (Felten et al 2007;Gibbs, 2013;Hoessler, Britnell, & Stockley, 2010;Hubball & Clarke, 2010;Hutchings & Shulman, 1999;Kreber & Cranton, 2000;Timmermans, 2014;Weimer, 2001).…”

“…Contributing and belonging to a scholarly field (McDonald, 2010;Timmermans, 2014) Appropriately public (Felten, 2013) Scholarly findings shared with and critiqued by ED community and broader academic community (Felten et al, 2007;Hoessler et al, 2010) Transforming Practice…”

“…Based on reflective practice (Timmermans, 2014;University of Manchester, 2006) SoTL researchers reflect upon teaching and student learning to inform practice (Hutchings & Shulman, 1999;Kreber & Cranton, 2000;Weimer, 2001) SoED researchers reflect upon their practice to inform practice (Hoessler et al, 2010) and enhance teaching and learning across multiple levels (micro, meso, macro, mega) of development, both of themselves and others…”

“…It is, however, possible for all four areas, namely teaching and learning, educational development, SoTL, and SoED, to overlap. Educational development may also support the SoTL activities of instructors where educational developers play a key role in helping instructors access, interpret, and apply SoTL literature, as well as engage in SoTL inquiry (Geertsema, 2016;Gibbs, 2013;Hoessler et al, 2010;Taylor & Rege Colet, 2010;Timmermans, 2014). …”