The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at the Two-Year College: Promise and Peril

Abstract

emphasizes the unity of teaching and research, with a focus on a particular type of research and its potential for both the researcher and the student as a researcher. These two approaches raise issues relating to the differentiation between institutions of higher education. the aim of higher education at the university. the organization of higher education in terms of the curriculum and teaching. and institutional policies and financing. (56 ref)-Ccntreji,r Edurcitionrrl Polic:v n r d Innovcirion, Cirtholic Univcwity ofleuven, Belgium.The ccholarship of teaching and learning is tailor made for two-year colleges. But the widespread adoption of the scholarship of teaching and learning Faces the obstacles of negative attitudes toward scholarship and research on the part of two-year college faculty and their tendency toward "pedagogical solitude." In response to these obstacles, two solid reasons for two-year college faculty to engage in the scholarship of teaching and learning should be emphasized. First is that the scholarship of teaching and learning represents an authentic way of measuring and assessing the range of student accomplishment. The second reason is to raise the intellectual profile of two-year college faculty within higher education and among the public at large. ( 12 ref)--Profi.s.sor of English, Bristol Community College. 0665-4YGMT

Community College Faculty as Pedagogical Innovators: How the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Stimulates Innovation in the Classroom

“…Enhancing faculty members' abilities to further understand their teaching and their impact on students' learning can improve community college instruction. Scholars of SoTL are convinced that this systematic, reflective, and public inquiry into teaching yields positive student outcomes (Huber, 2008;Huber & Hutchings, 2005;Hutchings & Shulman, 1999;McCarthy & Duffy, 2007;Petrides & Middleston-Detzner, 2011;Tinberg, Duffy, & Mino, 2007). Empirical (both quantitative and qualitative) evidence of the impact of SoTL on community college faculty practice is limited in the literature, however.…”

Faculty Members’ Scholarly Learning Across Institutional Types

“…() suggest, “no one speaks of the community college professor's research load, scholarship load, or consulting load” (p. 89). Nonetheless, it is necessary to note that given traditional and narrow views and definitions of research/scholarship, faculty may not label their efforts as research (Cejda & Hensel, ; Tinberg, Duffy, & Mino, ).…”

“…As discussed earlier, the role of research/scholarship at the community college has generated two perspectives: research is integral to good teaching, and research detracts from good teaching (Prager, ; Tinberg et al., ; Vaughan, ). Administrators and faculty alike share these views.…”

“…While discussing the importance of the scholarship of teaching in the community college, Tinberg et al. () stated:

While logic would suggest that teaching‐centered institutions such as two‐year colleges would welcome any national movement that paid serious attention to classroom instruction, the reality is otherwise. Where the fight at research‐centered universities and colleges is to valorize teaching as a legitimate subject of scholarship and research, the struggle at two‐year colleges is to convince faculty and administrators that intellectual inquiry and scholarly exchange are activities appropriate to the mission of the institutions.

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“…Moreover, despite Boyer's () call to expand the definition of scholarship, as documented in the literature, it continues to be primarily defined and understood in terms of traditional/basic research. For example, overall, the role of research/scholarship at the community college has generated two perspectives: (a) research is integral to good teaching, and (b) research detracts from good teaching (Prager, ; Tinberg et al., ; Vaughan, ). Vaughan (), an early and vocal proponent of community college faculty scholarship, asserted, “outstanding teaching requires constant learning and intellectual renewal that cannot exist without these essential elements of scholarship” (p. 28).…”