“Pressing an Ear against the Hive”

Abstract

This article documents a scholarship of teaching and learning project designed to help literature students cultivate the core disciplinary skill of reading for complexity. We offer a close reading of student responses from a collaboratively designed lesson to understand what happens when students read complex texts in introductory literature courses.

Research Approaches in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Publications: A Systematic Literature Review

“…For instance, alternative approaches are common in the humanities, such as close reading, which is a literary criticism technique involving the in-depth interpretation and analysis of written texts (Bass & Linkon, 2008;Chick et al, 2009a). However, our results from 223 empirical SoTL articles did not find one instance of close reading, or other approaches that fell beyond the boundaries of qualitative or quantitative approaches.…”

“…Thus mixed methods research can provide a better understanding of research problems than neither qualitative nor quantitative approaches alone allow (Chick, Karis, & Kernahan, 2009;McKinney, 2007;Morse, 1991) and can provide more in-depth focus on selected interests within a study (Creswell, 2012). Furthermore, when working with people, like students or academics, scholars have found advantages in combining aspects of qualitative and quantitative research, as drawing data from various perspectives can provide a richer overall picture of why and how a particular teaching strategy may influence learning (Chick, 2013).…”

“…percentages or descriptive statistics) (Meyers, 2008;Chick, 2013). Quantitative explorations primarily make use of closed-ended questions employing surveys, questionnaires, or structured observations Chick, 2013).…”

“…percentages or descriptive statistics) (Meyers, 2008;Chick, 2013). Quantitative explorations primarily make use of closed-ended questions employing surveys, questionnaires, or structured observations Chick, 2013). The strengths of quantitative research include accurate measurement, the ability to make correlations and associations, and the ability to test hypotheses.…”

“…Potter and Kustra (2011) define SoTL as "the systematic study of teaching and learning, using established or validated criteria of scholarship, to understand how teaching (beliefs, behaviours, attitudes, and values) can maximize learning, and/or develop a more accurate understanding of learning, resulting in products that are publicly shared for various experiences within natural settings (Cochrane & Oliver, 2006) and can help describe the nature and essence of what's being studied (Chick, 2013). Open-ended questions are the hallmark of qualitative SoTL research and are explored mainly through textual (but also verbal and visual) data, gathered through reflective writing, focus groups, interviews, field notes, participant observations, case studies, or document reviews (Hart, Smith, Swars, & Smith, 2009;Chick, 2013). Qualitative research allows for in-depth analysis of complex systems and experiences which cannot be fully captured with measurement scales and multivariate models (Plano Clark et al, 2008) and is best suited to address a research problem in which the desired variables are yet unknown (Creswell, 2012) or when a quantifiable attribute at the data collection stage is not assigned.…”