One of the questions I frequently get asked is, “So just what is the difference between Applied Research and SoTL?” Well, this question is not that easy! Never-the-less I’ll give it my best shot in this latest installment of the SoTL Corner. And I had my friend ChatGPT to give me a little help with this. Applied Research I asked ChatGPT to tell me what conducting Applied Research is like at the college level: Engaging in applied research at a college level typically involves conducting research that aims to solve practical problems or address real-world issues within a specific field of study. This type of research often involves the application of theoretical knowledge to practical situations, with the goal of producing actionable solutions or innovations. Applied research projects at the college level may involve collaborating with external partners such as industry organizations, government agencies, or community groups to address relevant challenges or opportunities. The focus is on generating new knowledge or insights that can be directly applied to improve practices, policies, or technologies in a particular domain. At NorQuest College, we encourage our instructors and students to engage in a variety of Applied Research projects. Some examples of this are:
An important characteristic of Applied Research work is that it focuses on real world problems that often take place outside the confines of the college. It implies a partnership with an outside agency (like Capital Health, the Mustard Seed, or the City of Edmonton) and it often seeks to provide practical insights and possible solutions or efficiencies. For instance, in Early Learning and Child Care, faculty and student researchers might collaborate with daycare centers to evaluate the effectiveness of a new play-based learning curriculum in promoting cognitive development and school readiness among preschoolers. Or in the field of Nursing, nursing students might collaborate with a local hospital to study the effectiveness of a new patient care protocol in reducing hospital-acquired infections. Applied Research is attractive to college instructors because:
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Here’s what ChatGPT told me about conducting SoTL research at the college level: Completing a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research project at the college level involves conducting research that specifically focuses on enhancing teaching and learning practices within higher education settings. SoTL research seeks to investigate and improve the effectiveness of instructional strategies, curriculum design, assessment methods, and other aspects of teaching and learning. This type of research often involves studying the impact of innovative teaching approaches, interventions, or educational technologies on student learning outcomes, engagement, and retention. SoTL projects typically aim to contribute to the scholarship of teaching and learning by generating evidence-based insights and recommendations that can inform teaching practice and educational policy at the college level and beyond. Again, NorQuest faculty have also been very much engaged in this kind of research. Examples of this might include Sheryl Boisvert’s inquiry into “flipping the classroom”, Karen Taylor’s work on using Indigenous story telling as an important pedagogical practice, the research that Viola Manokore and I did on the transition to Emergency Remote Teaching Practice, and Dustin Grue’s ongoing inquiry into the use of a generative AI tool as a writing tutor. In each of these cases the focus is on understanding and hopefully improving the student learning experience. At the moment, we are conducting three rather ambitious college wide SoTL projects for Reimagine Higher Education… I’ll write about these in later installment of SoTL Corner. In contrast to Applied Research, the focus of SoTL is on what happens within the college, often right in the classroom. So, while an Applied Research project might study the impact of a certain care model for dementia in several local long-term care centers, a SoTL project would examine the best approach for teaching Practical Nursing and Health Care Aide students about dementia. Would the optimal approach involve readings, simulations, role plays, videos and recorded interviews, literature reviews, or guest speakers? And would the aim of the project be on cultivating empathy, learning boundaries and self-care, changing perceptions and orientations, or understanding the medical conditions and considerations? However, SoTL inquiries are not limited only to studying classroom interventions. When I asked Chat GPT to provide a few examples of this, it said that SoTL researchers might also look at:
SoTL doesn’t always seek solutions, according to Hutchings (2000) it can describe a current state of teaching and learning, it can compare teaching approaches, conditions, or interventions, it can show relationships between various factors in teaching (e.g., workload and student performance) or it can seek to explain (e.g., why are students dropping out?) or advance a model of what could be. SoTL is attractive to college instructors because:
So, could an Applied Research Project also be a SoTL Inquiry? Well, yes, sometimes, if… but that is a topic for another installment of SoTL Corner! Reference: Hutchings, Pat. (2000). Introduction: Approaching the scholarship of teaching and learning. In Pat Hutchings (Ed.), Opening lines: Approaches to the scholarship of teaching and learning (pp. 1-10). Menlo Park, CA: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
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AuthorJeff Kuntz Ph.D. ImagesExcept where indicated, images used in the blog posts are personal photos, images from NorQuest College or images from Pixabay. Pixabay is a vibrant community of creatives, sharing copyright free images, videos and music. https://pixabay.com/ Archives
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