Opportunities and New Directions:
A Research Conference on Teaching and Learning.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
University of Waterloo: Conrad Grebel College campus
We are delighted that Dr. Gary Poole, Director of the Centre for Teaching and Academic Growth (TAG) at the University of British Columbia, and a past President of the Society for Teaching and Learning, will be the keynote speaker.
Dr. Gary Poole, University of British Columbia
Keynote presentation (PDF) by Dr. Gary Poole:
The promise of the scholarship of teaching and learning: Fulfilled or unfulfilled?
There has been widespread optimism regarding the potential for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) to provide powerful ways to improve teaching and learning (e.g, Fukami, 2003; McKinney, 2007). Research on teaching and learning being conducted across institutions can stimulate evidence-based change. Faculty members interested in teaching and learning can pursue curiosities and pressing questions the ways they know best — through research. All this activity can be clearly acknowledged within reward systems that understand the currency of research. These are the promises.
But are we getting there? Has practice been significantly impacted by SoTL research? Are institutions embracing SoTL as a vehicle for educational development and career advancement? In some cases, the answer is “Yes,” but not in enough cases.
In this session, we will examine some of the reasons why the promises of SoTL have not been sufficiently fulfilled, with the aim of moving forward in ways that get us closer to SoTL’s full potential.
Fukami, C.V. (2003). The scholarship of teaching and learning: Putting your money where your mouth is on teaching effectiveness. Decision Line, 35, 20-22.
McKinney, K. (2007). Enhancing learning through the scholarship of teaching and learning: The challenges and joys of juggling. Bolton, MA: Anker.