Mount Royal SoTL Network Survey Results
From SharedExperienceProject
<h3> Mount Royal SoTL Network Survey Results <br /> </h3> <p>A survey was carried out recently via the SoTL Network Listserv.(<a href="http://shex.org/wiki/SoTL_Draft_Page">Return Link to the main MRC SoTL Network Page</a>)<br /> </p><p>By 9/28/2008 4:00:49 PM, 35 people had responsed. </p><p>The responses are summarized below. </p><p>As indicated, you are invited to add your comments. Just create an account (top right corner of this web page), log in and then add your comments by editing the appropriate section of this page. </p><p><b>Question:</b> With respect to the scholarship of teaching and learning, what is it you wonder about, or, what question(s) do you have about SoTL? </p><p><b>Thematic Responses</b> </p> <hr /> <h4> What is SoTL? </h4> <ul><li> I wonder about what it all entails, what opportunities lie within this network and beyond. I'm interested in what those who teach do to improve learning and what successes/learning experiences have come out of this. I believe there is much more to this scholarship of teaching and learning then I can imagine at this moment. </li><li> What are the type of things we would discuss in this group? </li></ul> <p><b>Comments:</b> </p><p><a href="http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/cet/sotl_info.htm">What is SoTL?</a><br />An interesting definition and overview to SoTL from the Center for Excellence in Teaching (CET) at Georgia Southern University.<br /> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p> <hr /> <h4> Value of SoTL? </h4> <ul><li> I wonder how my teaching and research contributions would make a difference to the students and to society at large. I also would like to know how as a MRC faculty based in Edmonton benefit in this? And how would this enhance my professional development? </li></ul> <p><b>Comments:</b> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p> <hr /> <h4> The Role of SoTL at MR? </h4> <ul><li> My question is what role will SoTl have in terms of supporting scholarship at MRC. I am hoping to embark on a long term plan for research and am looking for resources to support me in this. </li></ul> <p><b>Comments:</b> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p> <hr /> <h4> Support required for SoTL at MR? </h4> <ul><li> Professional Development and Travel Funds need to be increased to allow faculty to attend and present at SoTL. Where will the funds come from and how will faculty be able to access funds? </li><li> several things: - how can we support new teachers outside of ISP? for preparation for peer evaluations? - how can we support "refresher" pedagogy for long-standing teachers? - outside of pedagogical theories, can we organise/condense strategies into a user-friendly handbook? - can we organise a forum/strategy to assist faculty with pedagogical issues related to "challenging" students in the classroom </li></ul> <p><b>Comments:</b> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p> <hr /> <h4> How do we get our students involved in SoTL studies? </h4> <ul><li> How can we bring our students into the research process? </li></ul> <p><b>Comments:</b> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p> <hr /> <h4> How can everyone at MR get involved in SoTL? </h4> <ul><li> How receptive will the group be to having "staff" attend? Although I am not faculty, I do have a Masters Degree in Teaching and Learning and I'm extremely interested in learning more! </li><li> I do not work in a "teaching" capacity in a classroom setting but part of my work is to support students in their learning process and help them succeed. I think that anything about how to help learning occur and how to help students is good and interesting </li><li> How can we make MR an environment where scholarship of teaching and learning can be embraced by the whole community? Many services and programs provided to students’ impact their learning by either removing barriers to learning or enhancing learning. How can we create a culture at MR in which scholarship is embraced and supported for all community members, and collaborative research opportunities contribute to informing the types of services and programs on campus? </li><li> Can SoTl support a part-timer looking to do scholarly research both for personal interest sake, potential PhD work and to assist those part-timers who wish to elevate their status at the MRC/U </li></ul> <p><b>Comments:</b> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p> <hr /> <h4> Questions related to the process of conducting SoTL studies? </h4> <ul><li> How can I collect meaningful data from my students that can actually influence my teaching? </li><li> How is it really done? I've done scientific research, but this type of scholarship is very different. I don't feel qualified to carry out this type of scholarship, but am interested in learning about it. </li><li> How to set up rigorous SoTL studies that are worthy of publication? </li><li> I would like to try to understand more about the methodology of this sort of scholarship. What I have read of the scholarship of teaching and learning troubles me, because there are rarely any attempts at controls, and as a result the conclusions from the research are, in my mind, suspect at best. Lots of very clever people are involved in this kind of scholarship, however, so I assume that there's something that I'm missing. I'd like to find out what that is. </li><li> I'd like to learn more about the scholarship part of teaching and learning-- pedagogy and I'm not sure what else is in there. </li><li> How can I integrate SoTL into the work I am already doing, making it part of my regular teaching-related activities rather than a "special" research study? </li><li> There is a lot of educational research, but in many cases the results are very difficult to discern. What is the best way to try and determine the effectiveness of new teaching techniques or technologies? </li><li> What are the key academic resources for current SoTL research? Where is the "leading edge" research taking place? </li><li> Small class sizes limit the size of a sample when studying the effectiveness of a new teaching technique. How important are statistics when arguing a technique is successful/effective? </li><li> How do I transform my experiences in the classroom into worthwhile research? </li><li> I have heard that a major problem with improving teaching and learning in the classroom is the lack of empirical research - too often anecdotal evidence "sharing of best practices" is the method by which instructors learn new techniques. How can we as a network/group look to improve the quantity of grounded research into the operationalization and effectiveness of the learning environment? </li></ul> <p><b>Comments:</b><br /> </p><p><a href="http://www.iupui.edu/~josotl/VOL_2/NO_1/mettetal_vol_2_no_1.htm">The What, Why and How of Classroom Action Research</a><br />What is Classroom Action Research? Why should you consider doing it? How do you do it? How does it differ from traditional research on teaching and learning? This essay by Gwynn Mettetal, founding co-editor of <a href="http://www.iupui.edu/~josotl/">The Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning</a>, is an attempt to answer those questions.<b><br /></b> </p><p>'<i><b><br /></b></i> </p><p><br /> </p> <ul><li> I would surmise from your questions and comments that you are more than qualified to engage in research in the area of teaching and learning. I agree with you, however, that there are far too many who are “experts” in teaching and learning who do not appreciate the reason for or value of the disciplined approach of scientific investigation. The area of teaching and learning could benefit greatly from input from those trained in scientific research. Having conducted research in both areas of science and of teaching and learning, I can tell you that my experiences in conducting well designed and controlled investigations in the area of teaching and learning were far more frustrating and difficult than my research in the scientific field. But that doesn't mean the work and effort are not worthwhile. </li><li> I'll go out on a limb here for the sake of discussion (...isn't that what this exercise is for?): One of the "roadblocks" to establishing a disciplined and empirical approach to research into teaching and learning at this institution is the wonderful climate of collegiality, community, and support that we have. That atmosphere makes it difficult to engage in the type of critical evaluation that is seen in science. If one of my colleagues has spent much time working on a project and is enthusiastic about it and believes that it benefits his or her students, I will find it very difficult to indicate to that colleague that there is no evidence whatsoever to support his or her conclusions. What do we do about this? Change the atmosphere at MRC? Do I tell colleagues volunteering their time to tell us all about "Things that work" that there is nothing to indicate that their "things" work, and that their caring for their students and their enthusiasm is not nearly enough if we are ever to move teaching and learning in to an area of true scholarship and, as you say, "grounded research"? You might conclude that I would very much like to tell my colleagues that, but I doubt that I will. I value both the scientific approach and the MRC ethos. The best I can do is try to alter perspectives by example. However, whether many at MRC will ever be able to fully understand and appreciate the difference between ethusiastic and well-intentioned opinion, and well-designed research, I don't know. </li><li> On the hopeful side... Over the past years I have seen a shift occur. When I began to think about conducting research, I encountered members of the MRC community who considered any kind of empirical investigation involving students to be inherently unethical. We've moved well beyond that now, I think, and for that reason I remain very cautiously optimistic. We shall see... and best of luck to you! </li></ul> <p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p> <hr /> <h4> Where to publish SoTL studies? </h4> <ul><li> I'm curious about where to publish a research paper. </li></ul> <p><b>Comments:</b><br /> </p><p><a href="http://www.buffalostate.edu/orgs/castl/publish.html">Places to Publish Your Scholarship of Teaching and Learning</a><br />An extensive list of SoTL related journals from Buffalo State University along with some tips for publishing SoTL articles.<b><br /></b> </p><p>'<i><b><br /></b></i> </p><p><br /> </p><p><a href="http://www.uww.edu/learn/journalsotl.php">Journal Outlets for Scholarship of Teaching Articles</a> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p> <hr /> <h4> <b>Themes, topics and questions of interest for SoTL studies at MR</b> </h4> <ul><li> In general, my interest is in 2 areas: 1)how do we ensure, or know, that assessment strategies are indeed assessing the domain we want; 2) how do we know that/which teaching/learning strategies are most effective in facilitating long term learning and integration of learning into practice. </li><li> I would like to learn more about identifying adult stages of learning to apply to resource development, working with students, and gauging their levels of understanding in individual conversations. </li><li> I wonder about how to create transformative learning environments that foster critical thinking about the world we live in, engaging students in a life-long pursuit of questioning, curiosity, and learning. </li><li> Is the 'classical lecture' fading/dying as a way to give information to students? </li><li> I am wondering about how we can make the best use of class time. How to design effective learning activity - that still allows for content delivery and yet encourages understanding, critical thinking and some application. How can I really assess whether what I plan and deliver is reaching/teaching the student? </li><li> I would like to know more about classroom teaching strategies other than lecture and how to use more technology in classes of 50 students </li><li> The Mount Royal College Academic Plan includes a recommendation (1j) to "integrate alumni more fully into the student experience through mentoring opportunities." How does this type of mentoring - alumni/student, student/student - fit within the scholarship of teaching and learning? What research exists in this area? What steps are we taking to move this recommendation forward? </li><li> I would like to read and discuss contemporary pedagogical theory with my colleagues. </li><li> What is the impact of technology on SOTL. How can we make the best use of technology? How can we avoid the abuse of technology? What evaluation tools and methods can be used to measure student engagement and satisfaction with their educational experiences? </li><li> I wonder how novel ideas about teaching and learning can be translated into the new environment that is the evolving Mount Royal. I wonder how to deal with resistance to change; insistence on conformity; notions that a topic can be "covered the same" provided everyone spends the same number of hours on it; requirements for final exams and formal testing. I wonder how to incorporate novel technologies when almost everything is behind multiple firewalls and new programs cannot be installed. I wonder how to remain flexible when we remain tied to proprietary software (like Lotus and Office rather than promoting the use of open source and free software). </li><li> I am, almost always, wondering what a college learning experience will "look like" in 5,10,15 years. I suppose that the curiousity might be centred on a suspicion that we are reaching the end of our current species of education model, and I wonder what we will evolve into. </li><li> How can I reduce my ever-expanding workload? </li></ul> <p><b>Comments:</b> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p> <hr /> <p><br /> </p><p><br /> </p>
