Navigating the SoTL Landscape: A Compass, Map and Some Tools for Getting Started

SoTL in the LIS Classroom: Helping Future Academic Librarians Become More Engaged Teachers

“…Effective teaching is by nature concerned with understanding and improving student learning; SoTL differs from standard teaching and learning endeavours in its deliberate attention to design, the presence of evidence-seeking research methods, and the intention to disseminate findings through conferences and journals (O'Brien, 2008).…”

“…This blending of knowledge and skills is known as pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman, 1987). O'Brien (2008) describes pedagogical content knowledge as the intersection between knowledge of subject matter, student learning in that discipline, and potential teaching strategies; pedagogical content knowledge, and by extension SoTL, will take a different form in each discipline. SoTL methods are influenced by disciplinary methods (Hutchings, 2000); however, cross-disciplinary conversations about methods through conferences and other means are productive in generating new ideas and opportunities for cross-pollination.…”

“…Are librarians well prepared to design and deliver well-crafted instruction?" Signature pedagogies, as defined by O'Brien (2008), are pedagogical approaches that are distinct to and pervasive within the discipline; Otto (2014) muses that the reference interaction and the library instruction session are signature pedagogies within librarianship. MacMillan (2015) draws connections between evidence-based library and information practice (EBLIP) in terms of cross-applicability of research methods and focus on community building, and argues that librarians are well positioned to assist with SoTL literature searching and dissemination, as well as conducting their own SoTL studies.…”

The Evolving Professional (EP) Concept as a Framework for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

“…Whilst the exact definition and description of scholarship of teaching and learning is still emerging, there appears to be some consensus in relation to the scholarship of teaching and learning as recognizing: 1) the importance of the learners in learning (and teaching) and innovations for enabling, enhancing, enriching and advancing learning, 2) teaching as deliberate design and integration, systematic inquiry, evidence-based analysis and evaluation, and authentic applications, relevant to research, 3) teaching as a public and open endeavour situated within and across communities of practices or teaching commons; 4) teaching as a scholarly pursuit that relates and contributes to existing knowledge and practices, is reflective and reflexive, subject to critical peer review, transparent critique and discussions and academic rigour and 5) teaching and learning as agents for change culturally and socially, locally and globally (Shulman, 2002;Huber & Hutchings, 2005;Kreber, 2005;O'Brien, 2008;Prosser, 2008;Gilpin & Liston, 2009). …”

Broadening Conceptions of What Constitutes Knowledge and Evidence in SoTL

“…The continued existence of such perspectives is illustrated clearly by the above two examples. This situation is compounded by the fact that academics new to SoTL are often unaware of, or are challenged by, approaches that are disparate to those employed in their own disciplines (O'Brien, 2008 …”