Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology: A Comprehensive Overview

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a dynamic and evolving field gaining increasing prominence in higher education. It represents a systematic approach to examining and enhancing teaching practices and student learning outcomes. SoTL is not merely about improving one's teaching skills; it is a scholarly endeavor that involves rigorous inquiry, reflection, and the dissemination of findings to contribute to the broader knowledge base of effective pedagogy.

Foundations and Evolution of SoTL

SoTL builds upon several well-established traditions in higher education. These include:

Classroom and Program Assessment: Evaluating the effectiveness of teaching methods and curricula.
Action Research: Using investigation to solve problems and/or use data to improve practices (not just to publish results of a study).
Reflective Practice Movement: Encouraging educators to critically analyze their teaching experiences and make adjustments accordingly.
Peer Review of Teaching: Providing constructive feedback on teaching practices through observation and evaluation by colleagues.
Traditional Educational Research: Employing established research methodologies to investigate teaching and learning phenomena.
Faculty Development Efforts: Supporting teachers in enhancing their expertise in their fields and developing their pedagogical skills.

As such, SoTL encompasses aspects of professional development or faculty development, such as how teachers can not only improve their expertise in their fields, but also develop their pedagogical expertise, i.e., how to better teach novice students in the field or enable their learning. It also encompasses the study and implementation of more modern teaching methods, such as active learning, cooperative learning, problem based learning, and others.

Defining SoTL

At its core, SoTL involves the application of research methods to teaching contexts. It is a formal way of questioning, scrutinizing, and analyzing our surroundings, and then revising and applying our understanding. The scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) is the systematic inquiry into student learning and teaching practices in higher education.

While definitions may vary, SoTL is generally considered the synthesis of theory and practical research-based applications.

Key Principles of Good Practice in SoTL

Peter Felten (2013) outlined key principles of good practice in SoTL, emphasizing the importance of:

Focusing on student learning.
Being grounded in context.
Being methodologically sound.
Being done in partnership with students.
Being appropriately public.

Inquiry Methods in SoTL

SoTL employs a variety of inquiry methods to investigate teaching and learning. These include:

Reflection and Analysis: Critically examining one's own teaching practices and student learning outcomes.
Interviews and Focus Groups: Gathering qualitative data from students and instructors about their experiences and perspectives.
Questionnaires and Surveys: Collecting quantitative data on student learning, attitudes, and perceptions. Surveys can be deployed in a qualitive format when using open-ended questioning, allowing participants to comment free-form to the items. Thematic analysis is used between and within the responses.
Content Analysis of Text: Analyzing written materials, such as student papers or course syllabi, to identify patterns and themes.
Secondary Analysis of Existing Data: Utilizing previously collected data, such as grades or student evaluations, to investigate research questions.
Quasi-Experiments: Comparing two sections of the same course that utilize different teaching methods or interventions.
Observational Research: Systematically observing classroom interactions and student behavior. Observations are a means of gathering data about a process or technique via watching participants in their natural setting, such as students or teachers in a classroom or experiential learning environment.
Case Studies: Conducting in-depth examinations of a single circumstance/instance/event.

As with all scholarly study, evidence depends not only upon the methods chosen but the relevant disciplinary standards. Pilot studies are an opportunity to try out a practice, process, or technique with a test group before initiating a launch at full capacity. This test run allows for testing, data collection, analysis, and continuous improvement.

Types of Data in SoTL

Achievement data: Achievement data refers to data that references student success, such as GPA, retention, and assignment and course grades. This data may be collected formatively or summatively throughout the course, at the end of the course, or longitudinally appropriate to the type of data being collected.
Demographic data: Demographic data refers to data that references information about a student such as their race/ethnicity, age, gender, socio-economic status, military/veteran status, and/or educational details (e.g., major, student level, first-generation student status, and//or financial aid information).
Self-reported data: Self-reported data refers to data that comes from a test, measure, or survey that relies on an individual's own report of their symptoms, behaviors, beliefs, or attitudes. It is used in both qualitative and quantitative research. Some examples of qualitative self-report data come from interview (both individual and in groups) and open-ended questionnaires. Some examples of quantitative self-report data come from closed-ended questions, rating scales (e.g. Likert Scales) and fixed-choice questions (e.g. Yes/No).
Qualitative research: Qualitative research is naturalistic inquiry and produces qualitative data. Qualitative data are measures of 'types' and may be represented by a name, symbol, or a number code. Qualitative data are data about categorical variables (e.g. what type).
Quantitative research: Quantitative research produces quantitative (numeric) data. Quantitative data are measures of values or counts and are expressed as numbers. Quantitative data are data about numeric variables (e.g. how many; how much; or how often). Surveys are close-ended (qualitative if open-ended), or Likert rating scale lists of questions that a participant responds to that generate a series of data that can be analyzed in a quantitative manner. One common type of survey is course evaluations. You can utilize your end-of-semester course evaluations to ask students up to 3 custom questions (close-ended or open-ended).

Dissemination of SoTL Findings

Dissemination for impact among scholarly teachers may be local within the academic department, college or university, or may be in published, peer-reviewed form. A few journals exclusively publish SoTL outputs, and numerous disciplinary publications disseminate such inquiry outputs (e.g., J. Chem. Educ., J. Natural Resour. Life Sci. Educ., Research in the Teaching of English, College English, J.

SoTL findings can be disseminated through various channels, including:

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Presentations at conferences and workshops.
Publications in peer-reviewed journals. The field boasts an ever-growing list of peer-reviewed journals designed to publicly share findings.
Sharing findings within academic departments and institutions.
Online repositories and databases.

Relationship to Other Fields

Related to SoTL are Discipline-Based Educational Research (DBER) and Decoding the Disciplines. DBER differs from the more general SoTL concept in that it is closely linked to specific subject areas, such as physics or mathematics. Signature pedagogies are ways of learning in specific disciplines. Examples of signature pedagogies include medical residents making rounds in hospitals or pre-service teachers doing a classroom-based practicum as part of their teacher training. The notion of signature pedagogies has expanded in recent years, as scholars have examined their use in e-learning, for example.

Criticisms of SoTL

Some writers have been critical of SoTL as lacking focus and definition with a lack of clarity on the differences between SoTL and Educational Research undertaken in tertiary education.

The 4M Framework in SoTL

The 4M framework is used in SoTL to understand complex problems relating to teaching and learning. The framework grew out of systems theory and has been adapted for used in educational settings. Eaton (2020) uses the 4M framework to understand academic integrity from a teaching and learning perspective.

Organizations Supporting SoTL

Several organizations are dedicated to promoting and supporting SoTL:

The International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning (ISETL) has as its purpose "to encourage the study of instruction and principles of learning in order to implement practical, effective methods of teaching and learning; promote the application, development, and evaluation of such methods; and foster the scholarship of teaching and learning among practicing post-secondary educators." They hold a yearly conference in varying locations.
The International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (ISSOTL) was founded in 2004 by a committee of 67 scholars from several countries and serves faculty members, staff, and students who care about teaching and learning as serious intellectual work. ISSOTL has held annual conferences since 2004, attended by scholars from about a dozen nations.
There are also stand-alone conferences that have a long-standing commitment to SoTL, such as the Lilly Conference and the SoTL Commons Conference.

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology supports equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in its practices. One article from each issue of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology will be highlighted as an âEditorâs Choiceâ article. Selection is based on the recommendations of the associate editors, the paperâs potential impact to the field, the distinction of expanding the contributors to, or the focus of, the science, or its discussion of an important future direction for science.

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Manuscript Preparation and Submission

Prepare manuscripts according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association using the 7th edition. Manuscripts may be copyedited for bias-free language (see Chapter 5 of the Publication Manual).

The journal also invites submission of Registered Reports. Stage 1 is the submission of the registration, so-called Stage 1 manuscript. This is a partial manuscript that includes introduction, theoretical framework, rationale for the study, hypotheses, experimental design, and methods (including an analysis plan). If the Stage 1 Registered Report manuscript receives an âin-principal acceptance (IPA)â it means that the study has the potential to be published if is performed exactly as proposed (also including the proposed statistical evaluation) regardless of the outcome of the study. In Stage 2, the full paper undergoes a second peer-review process, checking if the study protocol was implemented and if the reasons for potential changes were acceptable. Nevertheless, a rejection is still possible, namely if the studyâs execution and analysis diverged too much from the proposed study design and/or the manuscript is low quality.

The title page should include all authors' names and institutional affiliations and full contact information for the corresponding author. Double-space all copy. Other formatting instructions, as well as instructions on preparing tables, figures, references, metrics, and abstracts, appear in the Manual.

Focus on Diversity and Inclusion

The journal encourages submissions which extend beyond Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) samples. The journal welcomes submissions which feature Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and other historically marginalized sample populations. The journal particularly welcomes submissions which feature collaborative research models (e.g., community-based participatory research [CBPR]) and study designs that address heterogeneity within diverse samples.

Authors should also justify their sample demographics in the discussion section.

Author Contributions

In the spirit of transparency and openness, the journal has adopted the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) to describe each author's individual contributions to the work. Submitting authors will be asked to identify the contributions of all authors at initial submission according to this taxonomy. If the manuscript is accepted for publication, the CRediT designations will be published as an Author Contributions Statement in the author note of the final article.

Abstract and References

All manuscripts must include an abstract containing a maximum of 250 words typed on a separate page. List references in alphabetical order.

SoTL and the Integration of AI

Several recent studies have explored the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in education, including its impact on teaching, learning, and assessment. For example, research has examined how ChatGPT enhances learning through appropriability, evocativeness, and integration, encouraging personalized and reflective learning experiences. Other studies have investigated studentsâ perceptions of synchronous online learning in AI-enhanced courses delivered via platforms like MS Teams, highlighting the potential for increased participation and comprehension.

AI can expand teacher leadership by providing tools for personalization, curriculum development, automating administrative tasks, and supporting professional development.

However, it's also crucial to understand how both students and instructors perceive the impact of AI systems on their interaction to identify potential gaps and barriers.

Active Learning and SoTL

SoTL research frequently explores the effectiveness of different active learning strategies. There are four types of active learning: talking and listening, writing, reading, and reflecting. These aspects will help with having an effective course. For each of these it offers classroom considerations, relevant research, and related resources. Studies have examined the use of exploratory learning in online undergraduate physics and chemistry courses, demonstrating that students in the exploratory learning condition had higher conceptual and transfer posttest scores compared to traditional instruction.

Team-based learning is another active learning approach that has been shown to be effective. One way team based learning in Vanderbilt University is by organizing teams of 5-7 students who have done the reading assignment. Students then take a readiness assurance process test individually and then as a group they will take the group readiness assurance test. Normally groups will use a scratch off sheet or score themselves which will in turn provide more discussions in the group and also decrease grading time. The professor will go over the questions they struggled with the most. There is a standard procedure for team based learning which starts with a pre exercise followed by Individual Readiness Assurance Test (for them to hold them accountable). students join with their team and complete a Team Readiness Assurance Test where if they scratch off the wrong answer they will discuss why they are wrong. The instructor provides a mini-lecture on areas where the students are still having trouble.

Assessment and SoTL

SoTL also addresses assessment methods in higher education. Factors motivating universities to explore alternative approaches to assessment include graduate employability challenges, decreasing student engagement and increasing academic misconduct. Research has examined the impact of AI on online assessment, analyzing the use of tools like ChatGPT.

Service Learning and SoTL

Service learning is another area of focus in SoTL. When we administer service learning it helps students make valuable contributions to communities, time for students to think, and acquire not only academic knowledge but also street knowledge. Some benefits are that service learning is a high impact practice for student success like hands on experience or valuable career guidance. Service learning has a positive effect on students such as commitment to service or enhanced relationships with faculty. Having the class talk about the issues in our community and then helping out is more useful for the students because they are gathering more information than simple volunteers.

Results from this study was students from the course were more likely to continue involvement with community and civic engagement activities.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in SoTL

Many resources have been developed to help promote EDI within higher education. The resources developed have mainly focused on the curricular and pedagogical approaches, yet the syllabus remains overlooked with few guidelines available to educators. Culturally responsive teaching emphasizes the importance of connecting with students' backgrounds and experiences.

Inclusive teaching benefits all students no matter the identity group or background by incorporating inclusion and equity. Contributing inclusive teaching into nursing education creates a welcoming environment for learners and fosters a sense of confidence and empowerment among future nurses.

Chatbots have the potential in creating an inclusive environment for students who are disadvantaged with various life environments and different types of learners.

Metacognition and SoTL

Provides ways in how teachers can foster metacognition in students. How professors can guide students to self evaluation and reflect on what they are learning. Willis also mentions how metacognition can be applied to math by having the students right down what helped them understand the lesson (not pertaining to how to solve the problem). Metacognition helps students develop subject matter knowledge, subject matter skills and abilities, and metacognitive knowledge, skills and abilities. The benefits of using metacognitive strategies enhance personal capacity for self regulation, increased ability to manage oneâs own motivation, and students becoming more independent.

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