Digital Commons Network^™

The Sociological Imagination In Challenging Times, Nathan S. Palmer

The Journal of Public and Professional Sociology

This critical essay argues the events of the last few years have made sociology more relevant to students’ lives and increased their need for and the utility of a well-developed sociological imagination. To meet the opportunities created by this moment, sociology educators need well-designed and highly effective pedagogical interventions that develop their students' sociological imaginations. Unfortunately, much of the available scholarship on developing students' sociological imaginations lacks the conceptual clarity and empirical rigor needed to discern which pedagogical interventions are most effective. After a detailed review of the scholarly problems surrounding the sociological imagination, recommendations for expanding the field are …

Learning In Context: Exploring Student Cognitive Maps, Kevin Davis, Eric J. Tucker

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

This study examines how concept-by-concept learning can provide students with a robust conceptual cognitive map for the area under study. In-context learning indicates that students understand how individual concepts are related and apply to real-world situations. Our results show that insights can be gained from understanding the degree of in-context learning in a course. Faculty can use this information to guide instruction in real time and make curriculum adjustments. This approach is also helpful because it can be replicated in any course to develop knowledge about students’ conceptual understanding.

A Pedagogy Of Consilience And Renewal, Carolyn Calloway-Thomas

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

This essay calls for a pedagogy of consilience and renewal as a dynamic fusion of research and practices in order to provide a more coherent way of examining some of the keen, interlaced variables that trouble the academy and society. The project challenges scholars to study five key scholarship of learning variables that should help transform the way we look at pedagogy for the betterment of North American society and beyond. The variables—a quintile—are knowledge, geography, critical thinking, civic engagement, and empathy.

Using Ability Grouping To Examine The Effects Of Differentiated Instruction In An Undergraduate Course In Communication Sciences & Disorders, Katherine B. Green, Jacqueline Towson

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

Differentiated instruction is a student-centered approach to instruction that considers the differing characteristics and aspects of the learner. With increasing diversity in higher education, differentiated instruction is one strategy that instructors may use to facilitate student success. However, there is limited empirical research examining the effectiveness of differentiated instruction in higher education. Using a quasi-experimental pretest posttest group design, the effects of differentiation of instruction, specifically differentiation of content and variable grouping, on student content knowledge were examined in an undergraduate course in a Communication Sciences and Disorders program. Students in the intervention group scored significantly higher on final course …

Online Discussion Boards: Improving Practice And Student Engagement By Harnessing Facilitator Perceptions, Tracy Douglas, Allison James, Louise Earwaker, Carey Mather, Sandra Murray

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

This research explores the perceptions of facilitators in asynchronous online discussion to improve practice and student engagement in Higher Education. Traditional didactic delivery of learning content may fail the expectations of student and academic stakeholders. The pressure to teach within constrained resources presents challenges, but also provides stimulating opportunities for optimising use of educational technology. Fostering student engagement requires rethinking traditional classroom and online delivery.

The study explores the challenges and benefits experienced, resulting in the identification of key themes from which implications for practice are discussed. In doing so, it broadens conceptual understandings, while offering recommendations for university teachers, …

Beyond Chili Peppers: Using Custom Surveys To Improve Learning And Assessment, Raj A. Ghoshal

The Journal of Public and Professional Sociology

This article shows how customized learning surveys can be used to capture students’ perceptions of their learning in ways that aid pedagogy and students’ growth. In contrast to relying solely on standardized university-designed evaluations of teaching, thoughtful use of self-designed surveys about learning offers four benefits. First, this technique generates timely feedback in a way that allows instructors to adjust our teaching when it matters most. Second, custom surveys allow instructors to center learning as the core outcome and therefore facilitate specific, educationally relevant, and useful feedback. Third, the approach can cue students to think of themselves as the …

Medicine And The Museum: An Experiential Case Study In Art History Pedagogy And Practice, Marcia Brennan

Art History Pedagogy & Practice

This article brings three scholarly and professional perspectives to bear on museum-based learning experiences for undergraduate pre-medical and STEM students. In the first section, Marcia Brennan describes the seminar on “Medicine and the Museum: Clinical Aesthetics and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston” that she teaches at Rice University. Brennan is a modernist art historian, and her discussion focuses on the ways in which classes such as this can contribute meaningfully to undergraduate pre-medical and STEM education. Brennan collaborated with Joshua Eyler, who served as Executive Director of Rice University’s Center for Teaching Excellence. In the second section, Eyler discusses …

Guest Editor's Introduction To Special Issue On Sotl-Ah, Kelly Donahue-Wallace

Art History Pedagogy & Practice

No abstract provided.

Academic Instruction Librarians’ Teacher Identity Development Through Participation In The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning, Lauren Hays, Bethani Studebaker

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Teaching is a primary responsibility of many academic librarians. However, despite the job duties, many academic librarians do not see themselves as teachers. To determine how participation in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) impacted academic instruction librarians’ teacher identity the authors conducted an explanatory sequential mixed methods study. Using the theoretical framework, Communities of Practice, results from the quantitative survey demonstrated participation in SoTL did impact academic librarians’ teacher identity. The qualitative interviews explained the quantitative data. Study findings have implications for academic developers, Library and Information Science graduate programs, and academic library administrations.

Catching The Sotl Bug: An Interview With Librarian Lauren Hays, Lauren Hays, Kelly R. Hangauer

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Innovative Pedagogy (2018-2020)

This interview with academic librarian, Lauren Hays, offers insight into the relationship between librarians and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). In this interview, Ms. Hays discusses her doctoral work regarding academic instruction librarians’ involvement with SoTL and how it affects their teacher identities and instructional strategies. While sharing her own research on the topic, Ms. Hays also offers background information regarding SoTL, including such influential educators as Pat Hutchings and Ernest Boyer. Ms. Hays proposes SoTL as an ideal way for librarians to learn about teaching in higher education, and recommends SoTL as an avenue for librarians to …

Active Learning In Art History: A Review Of Formal Literature, Marie Gasper-Hulvat

Art History Pedagogy & Practice

This article surveys the formal, academic literature on active learning in art history. It considers the history of active learning in art history and outlines the unique combination of approaches that art history takes towards active learning. A meta-analysis of the literature considers its relationship to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). This survey of literature indicates that although scholarly research on active learning in art history is a burgeoning field of scholarship, it also leaves many avenues open for additional research.

Factors Associated With Faculty Use Of Student Data For Instructional Improvement, Marilla D. Svinicki, Kyle Williams, Kadie Rackley, Anke J.Z. Sanders, Lisa Pine, Julie Stewart

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Much is being said in education about the value of adopting data-based or analytics approaches to instructional improvement. One important group of stakeholders in this effort is the faculty. “In many cases, the key constituency group is faculty, whose powerful voice and genuine participation often determine the success or failure of educational innovations, especially those that involve pedagogical and academic change” (Furco & Moely, 2012, pg. 129). This paper reports the results of an exploration of factors that influence faculty to consider or reject using analysis of student data to improve instruction based on social cognitive theory. Self-efficacy, value of …

Racism, Pedagogy And The Renaming Of The Usa: Racial Autobiographies And Malcolm X, Salah Al-Din

Race and Pedagogy Journal: Teaching and Learning for Justice

This article looks at processes of name changing, in its politics and means of persuasion with specific audiences and national identity implications. Malcolm X had to change his name to affirm his individual dignity and human well-being, and the USA in the 21st-century, when it becomes a color-majority, white-minority country, must, in order to have the chance to become a multi-racial democracy and jettison white supremacy and white privilege, the United States must change its name, collaboratively.

Editor's Comment, Alan Altany

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

No abstract provided.

Editor's Comment, Alan Altany

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

No abstract provided.

Editor's Comment, Alan Altany

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

No abstract provided.

Fostering Academic Cooperation And Collaboration Through The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning: A Faculty Research Abroad Program In Poland, Casimir C. Barczyk, Nancy Davis, Lynn Zimmerman

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

This study is a narrative analysis of participants’ perceptions of the development of crosscultural awareness through The Faculty Research Abroad Program in Poland, a joint initiative between a regional campus of a Midwestern land grant university and a private university in Poland. The purpose was to foster academic cooperation and collaboration through a co-sponsored symposium on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). Results from a survey of the 15 participating faculty members from the United States provided the basis for the development of the University Global Collaboration Model. The model depicts how awareness of culture, connection to others, and …

Editor's Comment, Alan Altany

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

No abstract provided.

Editor's Comment, Alan Altany

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

No abstract provided.

Beyond ‘Listening’ To The Student Voice: The Undergraduate Researcher’S Contribution To The Enhancement Of Teaching And Learning, Lee Partridge, Sally Sandover

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

This paper introduces a novel focus of undergraduate research of which there have been few similar reports. Examples of staff-student research partnerships in teaching and learning are starting to appear in the literature but pedagogic research conducted entirely by undergraduate students is exceptional. The Undergraduate Learning and Teaching Research Internship Scheme (ULTRIS) was conceived at The University of Western Australia (UWA) to introduce undergraduate students to authentic research outside their chosen discipline. By focusing their research on a teaching and learning issue of identified priority for the University, students were able to make significant contributions to the understanding of the …

Personal Reflection: Pedagogical Content Knowledge And The Affective Domain Of Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning, Andoni Garritz

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

The question of these reflections is if among those content-dependent instructional conditions necessary to attain conceptual understanding, those belonging to the affective domain of teaching and learning must be included in Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), the special amalgam of content knowledge and knowledge of general pedagogy that a teacher needs to be the best possible teacher (Shulman, 1986). The author of these reflections has not developed the research needed yet, but suggests finding out a solution for that question is important for the PCK construct and for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL).

Editor's Comment, Alan Altany

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

No abstract provided.

A Review Of Action Research In Teaching And Learning: A Practical Guide To Conducting Pedagogical Research In Universities, Johanna Tunon

The Qualitative Report

Action Research in Teaching and Learning: A Practical Guide to Conducting Pedagogical Research in Universities by Lynn S. Norton provides a useful resource for those in higher education interested in using action research. Action research takes place when educational practitioners reflect on their approach to education and test pedagogical theories with research that is then presented for consideration within the institution and in the wider academic arena. After making a case for the use of action research as an important part of the scholarship of teaching and learning that should take place in higher education, the author discusses the steps …

Editor's Comment, Alan Altany

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

No abstract provided.

(Re)Considering The Scholarship Of Learning: Inviting The Elephant In The Room To Tea, Ashlee Cunsolo Willox, Dale Lackeyram

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

This essay argues that the SoT(L) field has mistakenly equated learning solely to teaching and the teaching classroom, and has systematically ignored the other moments and opportunities within higher education institutes where learning and scholarly learning occurs—particularly within academic support and development programming. Therefore, we endeavour to discuss what we see as the elephant in the SoT(L) living room—learning, scholarly learning, and the Scholarship of Learning—and examine the ways in which learning and the Scholarship of Learning can be brought back into the SoT(L) discussion through an examination of academic support and development programming. Through the creation of a new …

Changing Our Brains: Transforming A Traditional View Of Scholarship And Teaching, Brian Caster, Robert Hautala

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this essay is to capture, in its earliest stages, the influence that formal recognition of Boyer’s multiple domains of scholarship within faculty evaluation standards had on a select group of colleagues within a disciplinary diverse academic unit at a mid-sized, comprehensive university. A process is described whereby the combination of a book discussion group, a newly approved faculty contract recognizing Boyer’s multiple domains, and a genuine commitment from a disciplinary diverse group of colleagues to the academic mission of the unit, resulted in a transformation in attitudes toward scholarship and teaching. Scholarship of teaching and learning was …

Cognitive Computer Tools In The Teaching And Learning Of Undergraduate Calculus, Nathan Borchelt

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this study was to explore the use of a cognitive computer tool by undergraduate calculus students as they worked cooperatively on mathematical tasks. Specific attention was given to levels of cognitive demand in which the students were engaged as they completed in-class labs with the assistance of MathCAD. Participants were assigned to eight heterogeneous working groups consisting of four students each. One group was chosen as the focus of the case study. Data included student questionnaires, individual interviews, assignments, audio transcriptions of student discussions, and video recordings. Open and axial coding was used to analyze the data. …

Sotl In The Commons: Elephant, Authenticity And Journey, Ora Kwo

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Excerpt: I find it useful to refer to the metaphor of an international feel of the ‘elephant’ presented by Pat Hutchings in the inaugural issue of this journal. Indeed, definitions of scholarship of teaching and learning can be very different depending on which parts of the anatomy one is feeling (or seeing, or experiencing). With a specific focus on the role of theory, Pat took readers through variations of how theory is perceived in different traditions to reach a common ground for all: theory is not an end in itself, but a condition for doing better what …

Editor's Comment, Alan Altany

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

No abstract provided.

Developing And Assessing Undergraduate Students’ Moral Reasoning Skills, Karen Hornsby

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

"What does deep ethical understanding look like and how can we measure the progression of this aptitude?" Qualitative and quantitative data collected from students in Contemporary Moral Problems courses over two successive semesters revealed that the development of moral reasoning skills is a slow process. The progression of moral reasoning does not occur in a linear fashion nor is there a point at which a person will have satisfied all of the necessary and sufficient conditions for good moral reasoning. Student artifacts collected present moral reasoning skills as more of an ebb and flow, a type of coherence model with …