Using a SoTL Framework and Disciplinary Context to Sketch Teaching and Learning Research

Abstract

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) enables ways to improve teaching in various disciplinary contexts, in higher education; this framework begins with measures of what learners actually learn in a formal course and identifies ways to improve the teaching. The SoTL framework was used to inform part of a recent grant application for a multi-institution, multi-year research project in the soil sciences. Using SoTL for projected grant-funded work involved the following, an in-depth exploration of the literature a light exploration of the local context (soil science and agronomy) variations on traditional SoTL (and innovative thinking from educational research) pragmatics and practical planning, frugal budget planning to inform a general sense of direction, with the details to be filled in later (if funded). This work suggests the importance of studying a framework in depth but applying it lightly to enable riffing in new directions.