The past, present, and future of scholarship of teaching and learning in psychology.

Abstract

We report data from a national survey of faculty (N ϭ 482) that examined scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) research across 7 dimensions of productivity, comparing current perceptions of SoTL with those of a previous study published 10 years ago, and differences across disciplines, institutions, and gender. Psychology faculty had more positive perceptions of SoTL in general than nonpsychology faculty and perceived more departmental support for SoTL work than they did in the past. Psychology faculty, relative to nonpsychology faculty, also believed that their departmental colleagues were more supportive of SoTL efforts and that their departments supported such work. However, we found that perceptions varied across institutions, with faculty at baccalaureate institutions having more positive perceptions of SoTL than faculty at community colleges and doctoral granting institutions. Although there were similarities in SoTL support across years and faculty type, there was a positive trend in perceptions of support over time. We found only 1 significant gender difference: Men reported higher engagement with SoTL than women. Overall, we conclude that SoTL is evolving into an accepted form of scholarship; however, this form of scholarship may currently be more accepted and valued in psychology than in other disciplines.

Community college faculty engagement in the scholarship of teaching and learning

“…For example, Gurung et al. (2019) found that approximately 75% of psychology faculty acknowledged that they did not fully understand what constitutes SoTL activities and that they did not view SoTL actions as a part of their job duties. Community colleges can help faculty see the importance of SoTL and how SoTL actions can be incorporated into their daily practices rather than being viewed as an additional task.…”

Scholarship of teaching and learning and assessment: Advancing a collaborative model.

“…The good news is that a recent national study of faculty across disciplines suggests the value of SoTL is improving (Gurung et al, 2019), but the battle for credibility is not over. To conduct efficient SoTL and correspondingly better assessment, a number of criteria have been established.…”

Adapting implementation science for higher education research: the systematic study of implementing evidence-based practices in college classrooms

“…Instructors engaged with the SoTL in disciplines other than psychology may also refer to their research as discipline-based educational research (Gurung et al 2019 ). The goal of continuous improvement of classroom practice is a hallmark of both the SoTL and discipline-based educational research (Gurung et al 2019 ).…”