Authors:Emily Hoeh et al. Abstract: There is a notable lack of opportunity for students in pre-service professional training programs and faculty in higher education to collaborate and work together, across disciplines within a common area of professional expertise. In this case, a faculty learning community (FLC) was formed to create a set of video-based simulations based on relevant topics for Committee on Special Education (CSE) meetings, used to inform the development of an Individualized Education Program. These materials were made available across departments and universities, establishing a common language and set of CSE practices. Additionally, a structured three-level text reading and discussion provided faculty with an opportunity for professional development, networking, and scholarship. The project was completed following Cox’s 16 Recommendations for a Faculty Learning Community as a guideline for the successful implementation of the project, the creation of course materials, and analysis of faculty learning outcomes. It is important to note that the FLC process applies to a wide range of disciplines as a means of engaging faculty in responsive and reflective teaching practices as well as professional development. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:31:00 PDT
Authors:Christina L. McDaniel et al. Abstract: Preservice teachers in science education courses do not generally experience informal, authentic science education practices in their fieldwork. This study used the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning to frame a study that integrated informal science teaching experiences with a university teacher education science methods course. The results showed improvement in participant preservice teachers' ability to teach science content, their self-confidence in teaching science, and their ability to connect what they learned in their methods course in a real-life setting. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:59 PDT
Authors:Erica R. Hamilton et al. Abstract: This research article reports results of a study centered on an undergraduate instructor who facilitated a practice- based field experience with undergraduate preservice teachers (n=125) in an urban museum setting, working with middle school students with a public museum school. In addition to exploring this practice-based field experience, we also examined ways the setting functioned as a third space for teaching and learning. Also discussed are some of the changes the instructor made to maximize student learning in this third space. Results indicate that implementing practice-based learning in undergraduate education serves to extend and support teaching and learning. Moreover, practice-based learning experiences provide additional learning opportunities, including connecting undergraduates’ chosen careers with professionals working in the field. The outcomes of this study also indicate that when implementing and facilitating practice-based learning opportunities there are some pedagogical shifts instructors will need to make, including increasing one’s flexibility and adaptability as well as intentionally utilizing the additional third space(s) as text and teacher, when and where possible. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:58 PDT
Authors:Bernard Thomas Drumm Dr Abstract: In this paper, we outline a case study describing the incorporation of active learning and flipped classroom techniques in a renal physiology module in 1st year medical school. The module was redesigned over a 2-year period within the teaching for understanding (TfU) framework (generative topics, understanding goals, performances of understanding and ongoing assessment) to include more active learning exercises (clicker response systems centered on clinically relevant problem sets and classroom assessment techniques – CATs), which culminated in flipping the classroom entirely during the 2nd year. The goal, was to evaluate student perceptions of the flipped classroom model and to reflect on the use of active learning generally. In the 1st year, clicker response systems were favorably received by students, however the anonymous nature of the clicker configuration meant it was not possible to track progress of individual students. CATs revealed that content areas without active learning exercises were often deemed the most unclear by students. Student feedback indicated that the flipped classroom model in the 2nd year was positively received, with students noting it encouraged them to attend classes more regularly and they believed it assisted in developing collaborative learning and knowledge application. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:57 PDT
Authors:Jennifer S. Pitonyak et al. Abstract: Scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) is recognized in Boyer’s model, along with discovery, integration, and application, as one of four essential scholarships and is the systematic study of teaching and learning. As such, in 2007, the American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF), and later the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), supported the development of a SoTL mentorship program in an effort to foster SoTL within the discipline of occupational therapy. This mixed-methods study describes AOTA SoTL Program outcomes across ten years, 2007-2017, gathered via survey of past program mentee (n = 50) and mentor (n = 12) participants. Results suggest that mentored inquiry communities are a useful approach to fostering SoTL collaborations. In the future, the AOTA SoTL Program and similar disciplinary-specific SoTL programs should consider additional strategies for supporting mentee participants to completion with their projects. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:56 PDT
Authors:Nina McLain et al. Abstract: Active learning with student engagement has been demonstrated to improve knowledge retention and improve learning in graduate education. Nurse anesthesia education has traditionally been taught using lecture with slide presentations without considering student centered learning. Much attention has been given to active learning strategies to promote student engagement and content retention, yet little information exists regarding student preferences for in higher level graduate nursing courses. This mixed-methods study aimed to examine student learning preferences for seven different instructional methodologies; traditional lecture, a problem-based learning exercise, reading with workbook assignments, development of cognitive aids, game-based learning, practice questions, and a case study, as well as to which were best to learn by. Students prefer game-based learning, practice questions, and assigned reading with workbooks over lecture and other active learning exercises and reported game-based learning and workbooks from assigned readings as easiest to methods by which to learn. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:55 PDT
Authors:Anita Chikkatur et al. Abstract: This study examines data from a participatory research action study on the experiences of underrepresented students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields at a small liberal arts college in the United States. Our analysis aims to move away from the framework that students needed to be taught how to cope with and overcome the challenges they faced in their STEM experiences, including racism and sexism. Instead, we propose a stronger focus on how to end racist, sexist, and other forms of discrimination. We draw on the concept of “cultural humility” as a concrete framework that professors, departments, and institutions can use to approach their work of changing practices, policies, and systems. Results discuss specific strategies that educators and institutions can use to promote a cultural humility framework as one way to create anti-oppressive and equitable classrooms, departments, and institutions. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:54 PDT
Authors:Solaire A. Finkenstaedt-Quinn et al. Abstract: The writing-to-learn (WTL) literature is varied in how assignments are structured and implemented in the classroom, making it difficult for instructors to identify how to incorporate writing effectively. Drawing on the WTL literature, the MWrite program was established to work with STEM faculty to design, implement, and assess evidence- based WTL assignments. Herein we present a review of the WTL research generated through the MWrite program, situating our findings in a four-dimensional framework of engagement to identify how the MWrite WTL assignment design and implementation has supported students’ learning. Our analysis indicates that the multi-faceted design of MWrite WTL assignments supports students’ development of conceptual knowledge and disciplinary thinking. The assignments’ rhetorical features (i.e., context, audience, and genre) guide how students write about content, and peer review and revision stages encourage a collaborative, knowledge building process between students and their peers. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:53 PDT
Authors:Claire Goode Abstract: Challenges exist with the discourse in education around terms such as ‘best practice’, ‘excellence’, and ‘impact’, which raises questions around who decides what ‘excellent’ teaching looks like. To better understand the different facets of teaching excellence, this research project investigates the stories of twelve national Tertiary Teaching Excellence awardees in New Zealand, exploring awardees’ trajectories and practice, including views on their identity, and on what they consider to be excellence in tertiary teaching.This article focuses on the personal characteristics of this group of awardees, highlighted through analysis of their narratives. Educators, mentors, and curriculum designers can gain a deeper understanding of teaching excellence, and of how teachers perceive their own practice and their impact on others. It is hoped too that educators will recognise elements of themselves and their practice, and will feel motivated and inspired to share these with their peers. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:52 PDT
Authors:Kelly Schrum Abstract: Despite growing pressure to increase technology-enhanced assessment, research has repeatedly demonstrated a lack of widespread meaningful integration of technology in higher education. This is in part due to faculty reluctance which is compounded by lack of training and incentives. This qualitative research grounded in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) is based on in-depth interviews with 25 faculty internationally, across disciplines and teaching contexts, who integrated scholarly digital storytelling into their pedagogy. It examines their motivations for adopting this technology-enhanced assessment and their experiences implementing it, including increased engagement and student learning. It further explores challenges faced and lessons learned that may prove valuable in supporting the expansion of technology-enhanced assessment across disciplines. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:52 PDT
Authors:Michael J. McGuire Abstract: College students in a lower-division psychology course made metacognitive judgments by predicting and postdicting performance for true-false, multiple-choice, and fill-in-the-blank question sets on each of three exams. This study investigated which question format would result in the most accurate metacognitive judgments. Extending Koriat’s (1997) cue-utilization framework to these judgments, each format gave students different cues on which to base judgments. Further, each format has different probabilities of correctly guessing, which can skew accuracy. Students reported the lowest estimates for fill-in-the-blank questions. Accuracy measured using bias scores showed students’ predictions and postdictions were most accurate for multiple-choice items. Accuracy measured using gamma correlations showed students’ predictions were most accurate for multiple-choice items and postdictions were most accurate for fill-in-the-blank items. Based on the findings, educators are encouraged to consider what implications question format have on metacognitive processes when testing students over studied material. And, for researchers, the findings support the use of different accuracy measures to get a more detailed understanding of factors influencing metacognitive judgment accuracy. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:51 PDT
Authors:Dawn C. Botts et al. Abstract: This study examined the impact of experiential education through the utilization of vignettes on graduate student knowledge, skills, and attitudes in the area of written language disorders. Graduate students enrolled in a written language disorders class completed assessment measures designed to examine clinical understanding and confidence when preparing to teach a client exhibiting a written language disorder. The impact of the use of vignettes in the learning process was measured using pre- and post-tests, class surveys, and focus group interviews. Students demonstrated significant improvement in their knowledge, skills, and attitudes regarding written language disorders. All pre- and post-course comparisons were significant (p < .01). Therefore, the use of vignettes in a graduate level written language disorders course created learning experiences which resulted in the transformation of factual and theoretical knowledge into active clinical understanding and clinical confidence. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:50 PDT
Authors:Brian Baldi et al. Abstract: Slow reading has long been viewed as a teaching technique that engages students more deeply with course readings. Little systematic research, however, has been done to understand how this pedagogical strategy works in college classrooms. This study investigated how slow reading techniques promoted deep learning among undergraduate college students across two disciplines. Utilizing two food essays as the basis for a reading assignment, students in two courses participated in an intentionally scaffolded and paced slow reading exercise designed to encourage deeper personal engagement with course concepts. Theoretical implications from the research demonstrate connections between slow reading techniques and the existing literature on both significant and deep learning. More practically, this study found that slow reading techniques fostered personal storytelling as a means of developing deeper connections to assigned texts, presenting an opportunity for instructors hoping to facilitate the meaningful integration of course concepts into students’ lives. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:49 PDT
Authors:Ava Funkhouser et al. Abstract: University students are often asked to learn abstract concepts. concepts are hard to learn. Giving specific examples can help learning abstract concepts. These examples might limit understanding to the similarities between the abstract domain and particular examples. The primary purpose of this study was to test whether exposure to multiple examples would lead to better learning than exposure to a single example. Secondarily, we were interested in whether there was any particularly effective example. Introductory psychology students were invited to learn about the abstract concept of semiotics, through either 1) three of five distinct examples or 2) a single example presented three times. We assessed learning through definitions, transfer to a novel example, and self-report. The results showed no support for the hypothesis that exposure to multiple examples led to better learning. There was, however, one particular example that was more memorable and resulted in better learning. These results have implications about how best to teach abstract concepts. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:48 PDT
Authors:David P. Nalbone et al. Abstract: Much discussion in higher education has focused upon predicting student learning, and how to identify students who may be at particular risk of failure. Little research has actually tackled that challenge, and research on the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) in this areas is scarce; this study does so by measuring students across three semester of study in a variety of courses and course formats. Our results indicate that a set of characteristics predicting student success can be identified, and that course modality affects overall student success rate. Our results are discussed in terms of how they might inform faculty and administrators how best to identify at risk groups of students, and who other researchers might expand on these results to produce a more nuanced interactive understanding of the interplay among students, courses, course modalities, and other characteristics to identify ideal combinations of those factors leading to student success. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:47 PDT
Authors:Mary Rickard et al. Abstract: There is a long history of interest in individual differences in learning styles. Beginning in the 1960s, academic research endeavors began examining the concept of personalizing teaching as the best scholarship of teaching and learning best practice (SoTL). This current series of interconnected empirical studies take a fresh look at SoTL by examining students’ self-perception of their learning styles and whether their perceptions relate to how they learn. Today’s college students are growing up in the information age of the 21st Century. Many educators believe that a best practice is to focus on delivering personalized instructional material through technology. Thus, the current mixed methods study adds value to SoTL research by examining these concepts through a representative sample of the subject university in the United States. To assure the reliability and validity of the complex series of three integrated studies, research assistants were trained by a researcher experienced in experimental and survey designs. Data were analyzed using SPSS27®. The study's findings indicated that focusing instructional materials on individual learning styles does not equate to learning success; in fact, the data showed no relationship. The data showed that a combined instructional delivery methodology (kinetic and audio) had a positive influence on learning success. The findings revealed that explicit instructions with or without audio were the most effective in leading to students’ ability to follow instructions successfully. Managing students’ self-perceptions of learning styles is important to assure successful learning experiences. Findings, conclusions, implications, recommendations, and limitations are presented herein. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:46 PDT
Authors:Colleen M. Sharen et al. Abstract: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many institutions had shifted to primarily online teaching during the 2020- 21 academic year. This case study at Brescia University College (London, Canada) investigates the experiences of faculty members who, for the most part, had never taught online prior to March 2020. It explores faculty members’ conceptualization of their instructional role when teaching online. Instructors described the role of online teacher as creator and deliverer of content, curriculum designer, assessor, and facilitator of community. The findings confirm Community of Inquiry teaching and social presences but did not find mention of cognitive presence. We also found support for instructor and learner presence. Our findings suggest that the Community of Inquiry framework evolves over time from the pre-active to interactive to post-active phases of teaching. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:45 PDT
Authors:John P. Steele et al. Abstract: While potential teaching activities in the online classroom are unlimited, an instructor’s teaching time is not. As such, it is essential that online instructors prioritize limited time to instructional strategies that have the greatest impact on student learning. A survey of 413 faculty and 2386 students examined faculty and student perceptions about instructional components or strategies that have greatest impact on student learning in the online classroom. Findings revealed significant differences in faculty and student perceptions with faculty giving the highest value ratings to non-instructor generated content and students prioritizing text-based instructional content (regardless of source). Overall, faculty tended to place more value on instructional components compared to students. Students rated faculty interaction and feedback as the most valuable component of their online learning experience. Findings explore how institutions can utilize teaching supplements to support faculty’s desire to provide content so that instructional time can focus on interaction and feedback. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:44 PDT
Authors:Chen Zheng Abstract: This paper examines whether and to what extent student engagement with the learning management system (LMS) Blackboard affects students’ academic performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find strong evidence that higher student engagement with Blackboard is associated with better academic performance. We also find that the association between student engagement and student academic performance varies with different blended learning formats. Specifically, the positive effects are more pronounced when synchronous online lectures and face-to-face tutorials are implemented. Given that COVID-19 is a constantly moving situation, this study highlights that a blended learning approach needs to engage students actively to facilitate social interaction with teachers and peers during periods of social restrictions. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:43 PDT
Authors:David B. Tataw Abstract: This study contributes to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning by expanding the investigative areas on the role of social capital in collaborative learning environments. This is done by examining aspired and experienced social capital in student reflections on team dynamics in online project teams and aligning student narratives to expected student outcomes. Within a value creation framework which is aligned to the four stages of team development, including forming, storming, norming, and performing in order to illuminate value creation experiences and aspirations of participants, the study covered 39 management education students in 8 online project teams spanning 3 courses at an East Coast US institution of higher learning from spring 2015 to spring 2016. Findings from 185 emerging themes suggest an alignment between social capital and student learning outcomes and appear to validate the explanatory strength of the value creation framework in relation to social capital as a value creator and as value created in learning communities. The findings demonstrate that social capital is both inherent and created in learning communities of the evaluated online project teams, and that social capital contributes to both individual and collective objectives of online project teams. Recommendations for online project team learners and instructors are discussed. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:42 PDT
Authors:Mark K. McBeth et al. Abstract: The scholarship of teaching and learning is primarily concerned with improving student learning. Of course, we want our students to learn our disciplines, we want them to become critical thinkers, and we want them learn to write. But this study looks at how learning impacts a student’s optimism or pessimism. We believe that it is an important topic in today’s world and provides an important new topic in the scholarship of teaching and learning. This study is co-authored by two team-teachers and three honors students. Using an Introduction to Politics course as case material, the study provides a pre and post-test measuring student optimism versus pessimism on a wide variety of political issues facing Generation Z students. Then we provide a content analysis of honors essays which were collected during the semester and interviews with our three honor student co-authors. We draw initial conclusions about optimism versus pessimism in teaching and argue that a larger research agenda around this topic would benefit the scholarship of teaching and learning literature. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:41 PDT
Authors:Jill McSweeney et al. Abstract: The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) faces an emerging challenge as it seeks to balance commitments to disciplinary inclusivity and scholarly quality. We undertake a scoping review of 64 articles across three leading SoTL journals to investigate how the literature balances these twin commitments by exploring what questions are being asked, what methods are being used, and how these may be impacting the inferences that are being made within that scholarship. We advocate for a more focused definition of SoTL that can help reinforce its legitimacy within institutional power structures of scholarship, and for partnerships across disciplinary boundaries to be a central pillar of SoTL that is both high quality and disciplinarily inclusive. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:40 PDT
Authors:Carmel McNaught et al. Abstract: The paper traces the evolution of the Centre for Learning Enhancement And Research (CLEAR) at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) from early 2002 to the end of 2021. The University needed a centre to support both institutional and local (department and faculty) needs and aspirations for enhancing teaching and learning. Five key strategies adopted by CLEAR are: embedding the practice of existing teachers into policy development, localizing quality-assurance processes, relating professional-development activities to career development, involving students, and producing research evidence from within the Hong Kong context. The evidence base that supports these strategies, and the cultural and community factors involved, will be woven into an evidence-based narrative that spans 20 years. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:40 PDT
Authors:Michael K. Potter et al. Abstract: The scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) defines itself as an inclusive field of study, and scholars have long lauded its ability to engage academics from each and every discipline. Yet SoTL’s research culture has long been dominated by a narrow conception of social science. As a result, the lived experience of scholars from other disciplines, particularly the humanities, is one of engaged alienation. The borders created by SoTL’s research paradigm are invisible to those within and somewhat impenetrable to those who are othered by virtue of their disciplinary identities. This paper interrogates the contradictions between SoTL’s espoused values and values-in-use. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:39 PDT
Authors:Joe Pellegrino et al. Abstract: This letter from the editors of IJ-SoTL introduces the double issue, volume 17, number 1. We consider one of the items dominating discussions in higher education over the past six months: the advent and implementation of what may become a disruptive technology, artificial intelligence and its effect on the world or work, especially the work of educators. PubDate: Wed, 31 May 2023 10:30:38 PDT
Open Access journal
[10 journals]
