SoTL Corner - Sept 5, 2022If you are thinking about doing research into your teaching and learning practices, you might want to consider Pat Hutchings’ (2000) taxonomy of SoTL questions. Hutchings suggests that there are really four types of questions in SoTL research:
“What is?” questions. These types of SoTL inquiry questions seek only to provide descriptions of student learning and student or teacher experiences and they are not necessarily meant to evaluate effectiveness of an approach. “What is” descriptive questions may include descriptions of pedagogical approaches, students’ prior knowledge or challenges encountered by educators (Hutchings, 2000). Often the purpose of such an inquiry is to get a better sense of where things are at, so we can make decisions about how to move forward. For instance, in the past couple of years Tracy Topolnitsky (currently Associate Dean of FBET) conducted digital literacy study of our students. “Just how comfortable are our students with technology?” And “What kinds of technology do they use and have access to?” “What works?” questions. These types of SoTL inquiry questions explore the relative effectiveness of teaching practices and pedagogical approaches (Hutchings, 2000). “What works” inquiry questions include exploring whether students learn better when using certain approaches than other approaches (Hutchings, 2000). Effectiveness of teaching is typically measured by looking at students’ mastery of what they are expected to learn and their performance in assessment activities. When Sheryl Boisvert investigated the effectiveness of flipping the classroom, she was conducting this kind of inquiry! Other studies might include researching the effectiveness of student forums, breakout activities, portfolio assessments, or virtually any other teaching and learning strategy. “A vision of the possible” questions. According to Hutchings (2000), these types of SoTL inquiry questions focus on what might happen as educators try different strategies and approaches to enhance students’ learning. We believe that each time educators try a new pedagogical approach, they should reflect on possible student learning outcomes. In the study that Viola Manokore and I did on the rapid switch to emergency remote teaching, we wanted educators to reflect on their experiences and compare what they envisioned early in the transition to remote teaching and learning. What were the technological and pedagogical strategies they tried? Did they think that any of these tools, techniques, might have transformative learning power for their students? What further enhancements to remote emergency learning might leverage these strategies and this power? To a certain extent, NorQuest’s recent implementation of HyFlex learning was a prime opportunity to conduct a “vision of the possible” research study. “Formulating new conceptual framework” questions. These types of SoTL questions are designed to generate new models and understandings about teaching and learning. Such questions help to identify emerging themes that may help educators better understand ways to enhance students’ learning. Perhaps you have noticed that students have struggled with learning certain concepts or skills and have a hunch about why. You might suggest a framework or model of teaching that could address this issue and then test to see if your hypothesis is true. Could a thoughtful and skillful application of supports and resources and the specific sequencing of learning activities help students overcome the barriers to learning? There are many websites that can help you develop a SoTL research question. One that I found quite recently is from James Madison University: Developing a SoTL Research Question. You should check it out! 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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