Bring your ideas to life with Seneca's new program supporting classroom-based research on teaching and learning!
WHAT IS THE SCHOLARSHIP OF TEACHING AND LEARNING?
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, often referred to as "SoTL," is a research sector in which professors study their teaching practice, and how they could innovate to better meet their students' learning needs. We now have a program to support faculty-led classroom based research projects and a vibrant Community of Practice in SoTL at Seneca.
"The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning means viewing the world of the classroom as a site for inquiry, asking and answering questions about students' learning in ways that can improve one's own classroom and also advance the larger profession of teaching" (Huber & Hutchings, 2005).
1-2-3 to find out more!
- Add your name to our Expression of Interest Form to receive more info!
- Attend an Information Session in late January on how the program works!
- Submit an Application to the funding competition later this semester, and bring your idea to life!
What does the program offer?
- Funding includes a Fall and Winter course release to the Principal Investigator and research support to project needs (e.g., research assistants, incentives, equipment, etc.)
- Optional workshops on research methods, ethics, collaborative inquiry and more.
- A Community of Practice of SoTL researchers at Seneca.
What might I study?
- Prior knowledge, recall, understanding
- Critical thinking, problem solving
- Skills in application or performance
- Self-awareness and metacognition
- Engagement and motivation
- Focus, attention and processes of memory
- Study skills, strategies and behaviours
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Student outcomes beyond the classroom
- Authentic assessment and alternative grading strategies
What motivates our students? "Think about your students as people who are learning things for purposes." (Susan Blum, 2021). Exploring what inspires and drives our students is just one of many ideas for a SoTL project!
Tools of the Trade
- Collaborative inquiry in a team
- Secondary analysis of existing data
- Content analysis of text/project
- Observational research
- Questionnaires and surveys
- Interviews
- Case studies
- Focus groups
- Reflection and analysis
- Pretest / post test
- Quasi-experiments
- Experiments (with control group, an intervention and random assignment)
- Not sure about any of this? No problem, we can support you in designing a study to explore your idea!
Thank you for considering Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at Seneca!
Please email sotl@senecacollege.ca with any questions.
Credits:
Created with images by candy1812 - "pine and fir forest panorama in spring. Pathway in the park" • Marcel - "outdoor class room in forest with chalk board and wooden benches for students on tree logs with trees as backdrop" • Africa Studio - "Plants in test tubes, isolated on white" • kwanchaift - "microscope and young plant in science test tube , lab research biochemistry , biotechnology concept" • Li Ding - "Test Tubes with small plants" • rawpixel.com - "Diverse team celebrate success with fist bump" • Panumas - "Biologist or botanist recording information about small tropical plants in forest. The concept of hiking to study and research botanical gardens by searching for information."