MRU Institute for SoTL

Publishing in the SoTL Big Tent

Last week we had a lively discussion in our SoTL Reading group about who gets published in SoTL journals, what kind of work meets a quality threshold of “good enough”, and where that invisible line should be drawn. The conversation turned to questions of inclusion, exclusion, and rigour in SoTL studies. We worried about perceptions of rigour by academics in other disciplines (or our perceptions of those perceptions). This makes me think about some of the unique elements of SoTL, which leads to an interesting environment in terms of publishing our work in peer-reviewed journals.

SoTL is a relatively “new” discipline

While connected to educational research, SoTL thinks of itself as distinct and fairly new in disciplinary terms. Boyer’s model dividing research into four categories, including the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning was published in 1990.  It is a discipline still feeling its way in some respects, and new journals continue to emerge and develop. I don’t want to overstate this, and doubtless someone will argue with me that it is not as new as all that, but in the university environment, we’re the new kid in town, which comes with certain challenges. We don’t have hundreds of years of disciplinary history to lean on, which lends a certain gravitas to disciplines that have been around since say, Plato.

SoTL scholars are usually trained academics from other disciplines

By definition, SoTL is undertaken by academics typically trained in other disciplines, from STEM to the humanities to the professions, and so on. Some SoTL researchers, like myself, come from the field of education, but we are in the minority. Indeed, to my surprise, I’ve had to struggle with how SoTL is distinct from my home discipline. For others, SoTL is a bigger disciplinary leap. We learn that some SoTL reviewers and journals may expect social science conventions in submissions, while others are more forgiving. If you publish within your own discipline’s educational journals, it is likely that disciplinary conventions will be applied to your writing. This can be a confusing state of affairs for new SoTL scholars.

Many journals actively attempt to encourage new scholars

We heard in our discussion from Miriam Carey, one of the editors of The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, how the journal actively takes an inclusive and developmental approach to submissions. In an academic world where the currency of “rigour” and “standards” often translates to high rejection rates, the cost to a developmental approach may be concerns about lack of rigour.

Gary Poole, co-editor of Teaching & Learning Inquiry, in his opening keynote to ISSOTL 2017, spoke about the importance of reviewers remaining constructive in the process. I believe that we gain more than we give up with such approaches, and it is important to recognize new SoTL scholars take considerable risk in moving into the arena. Janice Miller-Young, Karen Manarin, and I have written about the challenges to disciplinary knowledges and identity new scholars often experience here.

I think this is an important discussion.  I don’t have a lot of patience with the notion that SoTL is somehow a “light” discipline, but I do think we need to continue asking questions about inclusion and quality as we develop deeper disciplinary roots over time.

— Michelle Yeo

 

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Call for Proposals: Banff Symposium on Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Nov 10-12 2016

Call for proposals: Banff Symposium on SoTL
Proposals due: May 8 2016
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The Institute for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) at Mount Royal University invites you to submit proposals to our 7th annual Symposium on SoTL, Nov 10-12, 2016.  The Symposium is a practitioners’ conference dedicated to developing teaching and learning research, sharing initial findings, going public with results of completed projects, and building an extended scholarly community.  Proposals are encouraged from students, faculty, administrators, or community members committed to the systematic scholarly inquiry into aspects of teaching and learning in a higher education setting.
Conference theme: Learning in and Across Disciplines
Participants at previous Symposia have told us how much they value the connections they make across roles, disciplines, and institutions. We encourage presentations that demonstrate collaborations with students, with other instructors, and among multiple disciplines and contexts.
Conference tracks:
  • Research on teaching and learning – presentations on active or completed SoTL projects
  • Involving undergraduate students in SoTL – presentations on best practices or example projects where undergraduate students are acting as co-researchers
  • Teaching and learning with technology – presentations on the utility and impact of technology for teaching and learning
  • Collaborating beyond the single classroom – presentations on multi-class, interdisciplinary, or cross-institutional projects
  • Methodologies and innovative approaches to data gathering and analysis – presentations providing a ‘how to’ introduction to specific research methods and theoretical frameworks
  • Calls for collaboration, triangulation, and development (poster session only) – poster presentations that share early-stage research questions with the objective of establishing connections with like-minded researchers
Full conference details here: http://isotlsymposium.mtroyal.ca/
twitter: #ssotl16
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Using and Interpreting Undergraduate Research Posters in the Literature Classroom

What if we paid more attention to inquiry as the creation of knowledge through scholarly conversation, with each other and with our primary and secondary sources, rather than focusing almost exclusively on how to record the “results” of inquiry in the research paper?

In an excellent example of a SoTL project which is also “scholarship of integration” (in that it integrates knowledge and pedagogy from various academic fields), Karen Manarin describes how she used research posters (typical of science and social science) to inspire a new approach to teaching literary research and to

  • make visible different moments in the process of literary research – to both students and instructor
  • allow students to create their own interpretations through creative and aesthetic choices
  • allow students to distill their main points and receive feedback before writing the traditional research paper
  • give students the opportunity and confidence to create something that would interest their peers as scholars

Manarin, K. (2016). Interpreting Undergraduate Research Posters in the Literature Classroom. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, the ISSOTL Journal, 4(1). Available at http://tlijournal.com/tli/index.php/TLI/article/view/128/80

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Asking Bigger Questions in SoTL

“If SoTL is to engage faculty across the disciplinary spectrum, it must embrace all kinds of research, including focused, controlled studies that yield statistical analyses and projects that tell significant stories about student learning and that emphasize interpretation, process, creativity, and theory.”
Bloch-Schulman, S., Wharton Comkling, S., Linkon, S., Manarin, K., & Perkins, K. (2016). Asking Bigger Questions: An Invitation to Further Conversation. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, the ISSOTL Journal, 4(1).

Find this article and more in the latest issue of Teaching and Learning Inquiry:

http://tlijournal.com/tli/index.php/TLI/issue/view/2/showToc

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TransCanada Forum on SoTL in Conjunction with Canadian Alliance for Community Service Learning

This year’s TransCanada Forum on SoTL will be held in partnership with the Canadian Alliance for Community Service Learning (CACSL) http://cacslconference2016.ca/ . This is a national conference for Community Service Learning (CSL) and Community Engagement (CE). Partners include Volunteer Alberta, Volunteer Canada, the Volunteer Centre Network, and Mount Royal University’s Institutes for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, for Environmental Studies, and for Community Prosperity.

The conference runs May 25-27 at Mount Royal University and the call for proposals closes Sunday, January 31. More information can be found on the conference website.

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MRU at ISSoTL 2015 in Melbourne

I’ve just returned from the 12th annual conference of the International Society of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.  Despite its being in beautiful but far-away Melbourne, Mount Royal had a good showing – 7 presentations which were all well-received!  See the twitter feed #issotl15 for more conference highlights.

Boman, J., Currie, G., MacDonald, R., Miller-Young, J., Yeo, M., & Zettel, S.  Communities of Decoding: Using the Decoding the Disciplines Paradigm to create faculty learning communities on 3 continents. (panel presentation chaired by David Pace)

Manarin, K. & Abrahamson, E. SoTL: Lost in Translation?

Manarin, K. Carey, M., & McGrath, A.  Scaffolded research: Student attitudes and student achievement

Miller-Young, J., Yeo, M.,  & Manarin, K. Boundary Crossing and Troublesomeness: Experiences of Scholars in a SoTL Development Program

O’Connor, K., & Sterenberg, G. Developing a sense of place: Engagement through school and community partnerships.

Yeo, M., & Hewitt, S. Innovating pedagogy in a first year science course

  • Michelle Yeo: concept maps help structure note taking and make links in anatomy and physiology, improved retention too. #issotl15 #STEM from @whydee13

Yeo, M., Manarin, K., & Miller-Young, J. Phenomenology of Surprise in a SoTL scholars program

  • “After immersion in SOTL some feel like a stranger in their own discipline”. Whole room nodding and mmhhmming. #issotl15 from @kerryleehood
  • After doing SoTL, some faculty report feeling like a stranger in their own discipline. Fascinating research by Michelle Yeo. #issotl15 from @pfeltenNC

 

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application details for upcoming Nexen Scholars Program and TransCanada Collaborative SoTL grants

Our redesigned home website will launch soon (can’t wait!) but in the meantime I wanted to get these RFPs posted as soon as possible:

2016 Nexen Scholars Program

The Nexen Scholars Program brings together faculty from a range of academic disciplines committed to investigating and documenting significant issues and challenges in teaching and learning in higher education. The central work of the Nexen Scholars is to develop course-based inquiry projects, conduct research that sheds new light on a significant aspect of student learning, and share evidence and findings publicly in an effort to influence practice in the field.

Nexen Scholars are selected for a 16-month term, participate in an off‐site residency in February, and engage in monthly collaborative activities during the time that they develop and conduct their inquiries. The Nexen donation also supports Going Public Awards for scholars to present their work at conferences, as well as an optional data analysis residencies to assist scholars in furthering their work.

2016 Nexen Program Call for Proposals (due Dec 1 2015)2016nexenscholarsrfp

Nexen Scholars Going Public Awards2015-16GoingPublic

Faculty who are considering applying are encouraged, but not required, to attend the following November presentation and to browse the Institute website for resources and information about previous projects:

Nexen Program Scholars’ Showcase
Fri Nov 6 2015, 12:30-1:30 in T107

Presented by 2015 Nexen Scholars: Collette Lemieux (Bissett), Brad Quiring (Bissett), Sheri Rhodes (International Education), Joanna Szabo (Nursing), Priscilla Wamucii (General Education), and Janice Miller-Young (Institute)

TransCanada Collaborative SoTL Inquiry Grants

TransCanada Collaborative SoTL Inquiry Grants are designated for collaborative teaching and learning inquiry projects which go beyond an inquiry about teaching and learning in a single class. Note that while the Nexen Scholars Program is designed to support scholars in developing a project, the TransCanada grants require a complete research proposal including literature review, research question, methodology, data collection, and dissemination plans. (If your proposed work does not align well with this structure, please include a clear statement of theory and methods that are aligned with the proposed project.) Eligible projects must propose systematic, evidence-based study of teaching and learning and meet principles of good practice in SoTL (Felten, 2013).

Collaborative SoTL projects are expected to be in the range of $5,000-$10,000 (i.e. bigger than what an internal research grant would reasonably support) and may be conducted over one or two years.

TransCanada grant application guidelines (due October 31): Collaborative-Research-Grant-guidelines-updated Sept2015

To apply for TransCanada Collaborative SoTL Inquiry Grant, Principal Investigators must use the Office of Research Services web-based application, which requires the completion of a Research Tracking Form, description of the project, co-investigator team and dissemination plan, and the uploading of a complete research proposal.

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I-SoTL updates and upcoming opportunities

2015 annual report cover_Page_01I just finished the Institute’s annual report (MRU ISTL ANNUAL 2015-for web) and am feeling fortunate to know and work with so many colleagues doing excellent work related to understanding and improving teaching and learning at Mount Royal and beyond! I think that Mount Royal has built a strong community and quite a bit of momentum for SoTL work and I’m looking forward to what the future will bring. The full report is attached, and here are some highlights:

  • 5th annual Symposium on SoTL included over 50 presentations and 115 participants from across North America
  • 10 students hired as research assistants for Nexen and TransCanada-sponsored SoTL projects
  • 4 MRU students presented with MRU faculty at the 2014 Symposium on SoTL
  • 6 workshops and methodology-related presentations at 2014 Symposium on SoTL
  • 5 scholars completed the 2014 Nexen Scholars Program and are in the dissemination phase of their research
  • 5 scholars accepted into the 2015 Nexen Scholars program and will conduct their research in 2015-16
  • 4 new TransCanada Collaborative SoTL projects funded
  • 48 scholarly presentations at conferences, postsecondary institutions, and disciplinary organizations supported
  • 7 papers published from Nexen and TransCanada-sponsored projects
  • 2 individual papers and 3 collaborative papers in press
  • 1 Nexen Scholar’s article featured in the December 2014 issue of the National Teaching and Learning Forum (MacMillan, 2014)

Looking ahead:

2015 Symposium registration is open and program will be posted soon!!

Lots of interesting sessions plus 2 keynotes and 4 pre-conference workshops.

Nov 12-14, 2015 in Banff

isotlsymposium.mtroyal.ca

 

Upcoming deadlines for different sources of SoTL research support:

Internal Research grants:    September 25

TransCanada Collaborative SoTL grants: October 31

Nexen Scholars program: December 1

 

Follow Institute news here:

 

blogs.mtroyal.ca/isotl

@I_SoTL

or find us on Facebook!

 

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Sept 10 SoTL Exchange presentation: Implementing Reflective Writing in Combination with Labatorials in Science

Dear colleagues,

Please join us for our first SoTL Exchange presentation of the year, presented by Mandy Sobhanzadeh, MRU Senior Physics Lab Instructor, and PhD Candidate in Physics Education at UofC:

Thursday September 10, 12-1 pm, Y324

Implementing Reflective Writing in Combination with Labatorials in Science

Mandy Sept2015-001

Students tend to memorize the materials that they see in science textbooks without thinking about their meaning, because they believe that language and words hold the knowledge and they need to use the same words and terms in order to show their understanding (Eger, 1993; Kalman, 2006). Such students who think that knowledge in science is a body of settled facts that comes from authority take a passive role in learning and become a receiver of knowledge. It is up to us as teachers to motivate students to think about the meaning of concepts rather than memorizing the terms and definitions. Thinking about the meaning of concepts is related to the topic of hermeneutics which is the theory of interpretation. Having a hermeneutical approach to science helps students gain a deeper understanding of the meaning (Eger, 1993). To help students approach science textbooks in the manner of hermeneutics, we use a writing activity called “reflective writing” in a new style of introductory physics labs called “labatorials” at Mount Royal University. Students interpret the concepts related to each lab and reflect their own understanding of them before doing experiments. We have studied students’ perspectives on reflective writing and labatorial activities. We used the disciplined-focused epistemological beliefs questionnaire (DFEBQ) developed by Hofer (2000) to find out whether the combinations of these activities can change students’ beliefs of knowledge and learning. This presentation will describe the activities and present data showing students’ perspectives on them as well as changes in their epistemological beliefs.

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