Making a Difference: Application of SoTL In and Beyond the Classroom to Enhance Learning

Making a Difference: Application of SoTL In and Beyond the

Classroom to Enhance Learning

PresentationIndiana UniversitySeptember 2011

Kathleen McKinneyIllinois State University

[email protected]

Goal of Presentation

Describe and illustrate strategies to increase the impact of SoTL for enhancing learning at multiple levels and in multiple contexts…in and beyond an individual classroom.

SoTL as a Social Movement

limited to one social institution impetus to the movement frustration by members shared beliefs mobilization outside allies

How Can We Impact Learning via SoTL In and Beyond our

Classroom? By making our SoTL work public and to multiple

audiences.

By engaging in a SoTL research agenda and connecting with others doing similar work.

By doing SoTL that fills the gaps in SoTL literature.

By increasing student voices in SoTL.

By making applications of own or others’ SoTL work at classroom and broader, more ‘macro’ levels.

By being a social change agent for SoTL and those doing SoTL.

By Making our SoTL Work Public

Make your SoTL work public for numerous audiences and via multiple mechanisms.

Sharing has impact by… offering an informative literature review, use of theory modeling questions, methodologies that might be replicated contributing a study that is one piece of the puzzle, helping students learn how to learn, and triggering reflection by others about their teaching and/or

learning.

By Making our SoTL Work Public

Examples: Presenting SoTL results at an internal campus research

symposium or a cross-disciplinary conference such as ISSOTL.

Creating a video to share SoTL work and post it online, have a showing…(e.g., video on learning from civic engagement).

Share results of local SoTL work in discussion sessions with students (e.g., Student-Faculty conversation on learner autonomy).

Publish your SoTL work in a well-read journal in your discipline (pedagogy or other!).

By engaging in a SoTL research agenda and connecting with others

doing similar work. Build the Commons

(Huber & Hutchings)

Collaborate

Replicate

SynthesizeUse Technology to

connect(Bass & Eynon)

Share informally

Do connected SoTL work- an agenda

By engaging in a SoTL research agenda and connecting with others doing similar work.

Examples: Indiana University Communities of Inquiry –e.g.

Chemists studying how to enhance student achievement or cross-discipline research on the use of visual methods to enhance learning in general education classes.

Edited books on SoTL work in connected disciplines or issues such as science or citizenry (cross discipline and cross institutional; IU Press).

Research on sociology majors’ learning: a series of related studies.

By doing SoTL that helps to fill the many gaps in current SoTL work.

co- and extra-curricular learning

graduate student learning

explicit use of “theory”

the intervening processes or why/how

the ‘big’ or common questions (cross-discipline, cross-national, and cross-institutional)

Others that YOU have noticed?

Why?How?

DV

IV

By doing SoTL that helps to fill the many gaps in SoTL work.

Examples: Learning outcomes of being in the university equestrian club (extra-curricular).

The impact on graduate student learning of working with undergraduates in a service learning activity.

Cross-institutional and cross-national work on undergraduate research (CASTL).

Study on how/why group work enhances learning using qualitative data from students.

By Increasing Student Voices in SoTL (Werder and Otis)

Students as research participants.

Students as SoTL research collaborators.

Students as a primary audience for our SoTL work.

By Increasing Student Voices in SoTL

Examples:

Requiring faculty/staff to include student members on funded SoTL research teams.

Faculty-student collaborations on course design or redesign.

Student-Faculty conversations on learning.

Web page on department page with SoTL results to help students learn.

By making applications of own or others’ SoTL work at the program, department,

college, or institutional levels.

LEVELS

institution

college

department

program

Class/course

By making applications of own or others’ SoTL work at the program, department,

college, or institutional levels—Mechanisms or Processes to use.

student affairs

accreditation

budget decisions

general education

strategic planning

curriculumdesign

Apply SoTL

By making applications of own or others’ SoTL work at the program, department,

college, or institutional levels.

Connect to Institutional Initiatives.Examples: ISU - SoTL work on civic engagement and the curriculum

in the School of Com, new minor, and in connection to general education.

U. S. Air Force Academy – Cross disciplinary, institutional work on use of certain pedagogies to increase preparation in multiple programs.

IU – Conducting disciplinary-based or cross-discipline SoTL on service learning and internationalizing the curriculum initiatives.

As a Social Change Agent in Your Institution

Support junior faculty and graduate students in SoTL work.

Co-opt respected colleagues as allies in the social movement.

Push for SoTL resources on campus.

Help with faculty development about SoTL.

As a Social Change Agent in Your Institution

Send relevant SoTL citations and results to decision makers.

Educate those making decisions about promotions, tenure… in the reward system about SoTL work.

Volunteer to help rework the reward system to increase value for SoTL.

As a Social Change Agent in Your Discipline

Connect people in your discipline to the larger, cross-discipline SoTL movement.

Volunteer to lead a workshop or organize a session on SoTL at your disciplinary conference.

Push for a plenary or keynote on SoTL at your disciplinary conference.

As a Social Change Agent in Your Discipline

Work to make sure SoTL is part of and matters to any ‘teaching-learning’ subgroup in your discipline.

Help establish an award or grant for SoTL work in your disciplinary organization.

‘Cautions’ or ‘Caveats’ as we Move Beyond our Own Classroom

Does SoTL ‘travel’ (Huber)?The importance of ‘context’The question of generalizability?

SoTL compared to ‘assessment’ or traditional education research.

When is SoTL beyond the classroom no longer SoTL?

Questions and Comments

Please feel free to contact me at [email protected]