Learn More About the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Want more information about the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)?  

SoTL Micro-Credentials

CETL offers KSU faculty, staff, and students the opportunity to earn Micro-Credentials that demonstrate SoTL skills. Micro-Credentials are digital badges that reflect professional skills and competencies. For faculty, they are a way to demonstrate and catalog professional development.

  • sotl badge
     

    This Micro-Credential souvenir represents an individual's participation in a 15-minute webinar introducing the concept of SoTL.

    After the webinar, participants should be able to:

    • Differentiate SoTL from 鈥済ood鈥� and 鈥渟cholarly鈥� teaching, and from related concepts
    • Describe the basic stages of the SoTL process
    • Identify resources to assist them as they begin to engage in SoTL

    The webinar is available on-demand, and participation is verified via a one-question quiz at the end of the webinar. Please ensure that you sign in to MediaSpace before viewing. Badges will be granted in the Badgr system within two weeks of completion.

  • sotl fundamentals badge
     

    For this Level 1 Badge, participants will extend their鈥痩earning about the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) through readings, videos, and personal reflections.

    After completing this badge, participants鈥痵hould be able to:  

    • Identify several characteristics of good quality SoTL studies
    • Identify sources of SoTL publications鈥痠n their disciplines
    • Discuss the ethical considerations of including students as partners in SoTL
    • Describe common challenges associated with engaging in SoTL
    • Identify potential solutions to address common SoTL challenges

    To earn this Micro-Credential, learners will complete a鈥疭oftChalk lesson鈥痶hat contains textual content and links to additional readings, videos, and websites. For each of the four sections of content, learners will submit a personal reflection of at least 150 words that addresses the prompts given. The approximate time to complete the Micro-Credential is 4.5 hours. We recommend learners earn the 鈥淕etting Started with SoTL at KSU鈥� Souvenir before beginning this badge. 

  • sotl research design badge
     

    For this Level 1 Badge, participants will learn about research design in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) by engaging in a thorough inquiry process that promotes the development of鈥痑 well-informed research design for a SoTL project.

    After completing, the learner will be able to generate a textual and visual representation of the鈥痳esearch design for their SoTL project that contains thorough descriptions of:  

    • Their worldview as a researcher
    • Their topic of study and associated research questions
    • The study's theoretical framework and grounding literature
    • The study's methodology
    • Ethical principles that will guide the study 

    Learners will use the Hopscotch 4-SoTL web tool as a guide. The estimated time of completion鈥痜or self-guided Hopscotch 4-SoTL is three hours; however, for SoTL beginners we recommend this badge be completed in consultation with CETL staff as noted below. The results of the Hopscotch 4-SoTL webform are emailed as a PDF to the learner, who will then submit the completed webform to the Grantor from their email address. After the Grantor reviews the completed artifact, revisions may be requested before the Micro-Credential is granted. We recommend learners earn the 鈥淕etting Started with SoTL at KSU鈥� Souvenir and 鈥淪oTL Fundamentals鈥� Level 1 Badge before beginning this badge. 

 

Current Workshops

Registration for the following workshops is now open for all faculty, staff, and graduate students at KSU. Many of our workshops are offered as custom workshops for individual colleges and departments upon request.

Additional Resources

Check out these resources for more information about the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)

  • As defined by CETL at KSU, The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is systematic and/or reflective inquiry into student learning and/or teaching in higher education which is situated in context and involves methodologically sound application of appropriate research methods, peer review, and distribution as scholarly work.

    The following resources may be useful to help you get started with SoTL:

    • Fifteen-minute "" on-demand webinar (KSU faculty, staff, or students completing this video will earn a Micro-Credential souvenir)
    • A on becoming a SoTL scholar
    • A on getting started with a related form of research primarily found in STEM disciplines, Discipline-Based Educational Research (DBER)

    CETL offers frequent workshops and webinars on SoTL. Please see our events page for more information. 

  • It can be challenging for faculty with a limited knowledge of the science of teaching and learning to situate their SoTL studies within a theoretical framework. CETL's Science of Learning page is a great place to start.

    For help in searching and reviewing the SoTL literature, check out these two excellent articles by Healey and Healey:

    • Healey, M., & Healey, R. L. (2023). Searching the literature on scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL): An academic literacies perspective part 1. Teaching & Learning Inquiry 11.
    • Healey, M., & Healey, R. L. (2023). Reviewing the literature on scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL): An academic literacies perspective part 2. Teaching & Learning Inquiry 11.

    , Research Librarian and Associate Professor of Library Science, serves as KSU's SoTL librarian and can also assist you in locating literature that may inform your SoTL study.  

  • The Hopscotch 4-SoTL model can be useful as a tool to help you plan and visualize your research design. The KSU library also has an excellent  that contains resources for research design, impact, and publishing.

    Resources for different disciplinary approaches to SoTL:

    • Illinois State University has an excellent resource for
    • Halpern, F. (2023). . Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 11. 
    • Chick, Nancy L. (2014) . International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 8(2), Article 1.
    • Kelly, N., Nesbit, S., & Oliver, C. (2012). . International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 6(1), Article 18
    • Potter, M.K., & Wuetherick, B. (2015) . The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 6(2), Article 2.

    Resources for Methodologies in SoTL: 

    • Cook-Sather, A., Abbot, S., & Felten, P. (2019). . Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 7(2)
    • Bernstein, J. (2018). . Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 6(2), 115-126
    • Divan, A., Ludwig, L., Matthews, K., Motley, P., & Tomljenovic-Berube, A. (2017) . Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 5(2).
    • Kanuka, H. (2011). Keeping the scholarship in the scholarship of teaching and learning. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 5(1), Article 3.
    • McKinney, K. (2012) . International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 6(1), Article 3

  • These sites list dozens of scales that measure different aspects of the student experience:

  • Most SoTL studies fall under the purview of the Institutional Review Board (IRB). For assistance in preparing an IRB proposal for your SoTL study, visit our SoTL IRB FAQs page  or contact us for a consultation.

    Other Resources on Ethics in SoTL:

  • Like other forms of scholarship, SoTL work can be shared in disciplinary or interdisciplinary academic journals, books, and other non-traditional avenues. Below are some resources that may help you as you prepare to disseminate your work.

    • CETL maintains directories of disciplinary and interdisciplinary teaching-related conferences and journals, searchable by topic, discipline, and for the conference directory, location
    • The KSU library has a that includes several helpful resources on:
      • your work
      • Selecting an educational research journal for your work
      • Finding information about the impact of your research, or of a particular journal
    • Helpful resources on writing SoTL:
      • Healey, M., Matthews, K.E., & Cook-Sather, A. (2019) . Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 7(2).
      • Sword, H. (2019). . Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 7(1)
    • Publishing your SoTL work:
      • Normandeau, M., Kolomitro, K., & Maher, P. T. (2020). . Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 11(2), n2. 
      • Kathleen McKinney's
    • Information about non-traditional forms of SoTL and SoTL as "public scholarship."
      • KSU has specific resources to help you share your work in online forum "The Conversation"
      • Nancy Chick's as public scholarship
      • Chick, N., & Friberg, J., Eds. (2022) . Stylus Press.

  • Including students as partners in your SoTL research can provide benefits to everyone involved in the study. For more information on how to include students as partners, see the following resources:

    • Elon University's resource
    • Maurer, T. (2017) . Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 5(1)
    • Healey, M., Flint, A., & Harrington, K. (2016) . Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 4(2), 8鈥�20

  • The International is the largest society for faculty engaging in SoTL. They host an annual conference and post numerous resources to their website and Twitter accounts.

    At KSU, the SoTL Listserv and the annual Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Summit are great ways to stay connected to the latest SoTL developments on campus.