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2002—2003 SOTL Introductory Messages
A Message from Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
and Dean of the Faculties Moya L. Andrews
I am pleased to send to you the schedule for the fourth year of our Scholarship
of Teaching and Learning Initiative at IU Bloomington. In our program
this year, members of the faculty will continue to discuss not just what
but also how students are learning in their classes. They will
present course-focused research projects which are defined and implemented
by faculty members.
During the first three years of the campus SOTL program, the main events
colloquia, which focused attention on individual scholarly projects involved
34 local scholars from 22 different departments. About one-quarter has
come from the natural sciences, one-quarter from the social sciences and
the rest from the humanities, the School of Education and 5 of the 11
other professional schools. These numbers underscore the diverse support
and commitment to evidence based research on teaching on this campus.
This year’s topics of study range from pedagogical approaches on
the anniversary of September 11 and an anthropological perspective on
the role of a teacher, to the possibilities for moving learning beyond
factual recall. Other SOTL events in this new year include presentations
by several visiting researchers, nationally recognized for their contributions
to the scholarship of teaching and learning, and discussions focusing
on emerging issues that are important to all of us within our academic
community.
This year’s series promises an eclectic mix of approaches to the
study of teaching and learning, which will add to our understanding of
the differences between units. What can be learned from different perspectives
and methodologies? How do we know which approaches effectively foster
student learning? What can cross-departmental conversations do to enrich
our teaching? I hope you will attend some of our events so that we have
a truly representative sample of faculty contributing to discussion of
these important issues.
We need to continue to build on our campus’ tradition of excellence
in teaching. Pat Hutchings, Vice President of the Carnegie Foundation
for the Advancement of Teaching, has publicly recognized “IU’s
capacity to continue its work on the scholarship of teaching and learning
in ways that will make a real difference in the quality of teaching and
learning across the country.” Our national reputation of continued
commitment to high quality teaching within the context of a research university
is well deserved. Our faculty’s expertise as researchers is a special
benefit and allows us to study teaching and learning with the same standards
and rigor that we bring to our disciplinary research.
Because we are focusing more than ever this year on teaching within and
across departments, we are providing a new SOTL Leadership Award. It will
be given to a department with the best Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
research initiative. We are looking for a project that promises to have
a sustained impact upon instructional development and undergraduate education
and that could serve as a model for other programs on campus. The department
receiving this award will be honored at the final SOTL reception in April
2003 and will give a presentation of initial research results during the
2003–2004 SOTL campus colloquia series, as well as a final report
the following year. The department will also receive $35,000 to support
activities detailed in its proposal. I encourage you and your departmental
colleagues to consider applying for this award. You can find more details
here.
I look forward to seeing you at this year’s SOTL events.
Moya L. Andrews
Moya L. Andrews is professor of Speech & Hearing Sciences and
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculties. Born in
Australia, she graduated from Queensland University in Brisbane, completed
a masters degree at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a
doctorate from Columbia University. She is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing
Association and also a Fellow of the Society of Ear, Nose, and Throat
Advances in Children. Her work on voice disorders and her clinical protocols
are used worldwide. The author of six books, she has also published extensively
in the research journals. She founded the voice clinic at Indiana University
which she directed for twenty years. She is active in national and state
professional organizations and associate editor of the Journal of Voice.
In 1997 she was honored by the Indiana Speech & Hearing Association
for outstanding professional achievements and in 1999 received the Distinguished
Scholar Award from the IU Office of Women’s Affairs. In 2001 she
received the Honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
A Message from the Vice President for Research
and Dean of the Graduate School George E. Walker
One thing all university faculty constantly struggle with throughout
their academic careers is trying to balance the three traditional components
of their jobs – teaching, research, and service. Sometimes these
three areas are seen in conflict with one another, and certainly even
the most experienced professors get “stressed out” at times
in trying to divide their time, energies, and creativity among the three
areas. The beauty of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Program
at Indiana University is that it affords us a unique opportunity to integrate
all areas of the academic enterprise in a new and exciting way, so in
fact the supposed teaching/research dichotomy disappears – as it
naturally should since both are ways of facilitating learning and developing
a learning community.
When I spoke to the Indiana University community about three years ago
I noted that it had been said that research is what you do and scholarship
is what you think about what you do. Scholarship is more reflective. Research
can be essentially learning to use big widgets to get certain kinds of
data, or learning certain kinds of techniques – learning to use a
hammer. Scholarship is the kind of thing that keeps you from seeing everything
as a nail, once you’ve learned to use a hammer. So there is a reflectiveness
associated with scholarship that complements or goes beyond research,
but they are still tied together. I believe that the Scholarship of Teaching
and Learning emphasizes this philosophy.
As a result of the efforts spearheaded by our Academic Affairs and Dean
of Faculties office and Research and the University Graduate School (RUGS),
we at Indiana University have “put our money where our mouth is”
by providing funds for those engaged in the scholarship of teaching and
learning on exactly the same basis as we provide funds for research in
any other academic area – and we have all already benefitted from
it and will find increasing benefits in the future. We have the same high
expectations for SOTL projects that we have for disciplinary research.
Specifically RUGS will continue to provide matching funds for external
funding on the scholarship of teaching from federal, private, and individual
donors. Secondly, we will continue to invite Summer Faculty Fellowship
proposals in the area of research in teaching.
If we rejoice in the gifts of great teachers, and I believe we do in the
community that I’m proud to be part of, then it is all the more important
– in fact, it’s essential – for us to learn more about
great teaching. And that requires research, and then a body of research
and reflection. The scholarship of teaching and learning is the means
to that end, and therefore is a vital endeavor for a great university.
The good news is that there is broad interest nationally in the area
of scholarship of teaching and learning and that Indiana University is
seen as a pioneer in this important endeavor. The better news is that
this issue is so important to our society and our democratic civilization
that the scholarship of teaching is going to flourish – it’s
just a matter of how long it will take and whether or not it will be on
our watch. The best news is that you personally as scholars and mentors
are going to have a profound and satisfying positive influence on generations
of learners by your efforts in this area – long after your specific
teaching, research, and administration has been outdated, the mentoring
you have carried out in this area (when you didn’t even know it and
thought you were doing other things) will profoundly affect those who
come into contact with you without time and space limitation.
George E. Walker
George E. Walker is Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate
School at Indiana University and Senior Scholar, Carnegie Foundation for
the Advancement of Teaching, where he directs the “Carnegie Initiative
on the Doctorate” program. He has been a Professor of Physics at
IU since 1970. He has published widely in refereed physics journals, delivered
many invited talks at international conferences and workshops and served
on numerous regional and national advisory boards. Most recent appointments
included president of the Association of American Universities’ (AAU)
Association of Graduate Schools, AAU Task Force on Graduate Education,
AAU Council on Federal Relations, Graduate Record Examinations Board,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Physics and Space Technology Directorate
Advisory Committee, National Association of State Universities & Land
Grant Colleges Board of Directors, National Research Council Committee
on Methods of Forecasting Demand and Supply of Doctoral Scientists and
Engineers, North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission
of Institutions of Higher Education, and the Test of English as a Foreign
Language (TOEFL) Policy Council.
IU SOTL Initiative Begins Fourth Year
Like all scholarship, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL)
can be seen as a cycle that moves research from creation to application
and back again to refined theory building and testing. The phases of the
SOTL cycle can include reading the scholarly literature on teaching, applying
that literature to a specific course or teaching issue, reflecting on
and assessing the success of those new practices, further refining and
inquiring about them, and disseminating any new knowledge generated about
teaching and learning. The SOTL Program at IU Bloomington invites faculty
members and graduate students to engage with SOTL anywhere along this
cycle. The program aims to fully support individually-defined SOTL research
projects, those that increase our collective understanding of the relationship
between teaching and learning, as well as faculty efforts toward scholarly
teaching that fosters student achievement.
This year’s SOTL Program will feature lunchtime colloquia
by local and visiting scholars of teaching and learning. At these, faculty
members and graduate students will be invited to discuss significant findings
and alternative methods of teaching and learning that are grounded in
evidence and applicable across disciplines. They may learn more diverse
and sophisticated techniques for determining the success of their own
practice and may voice important comments that affect the development
of these scholarly projects.
This year’s program will also offer special opportunities to broaden
the SOTL community and aid its members as they move along the cycle of
teaching and learning scholarship. Several poster sessions will
showcase scholarly activity and create the chance for formative conversations
between authors and readers. At a February 14 poster exposition, faculty
members and graduate students will describe the intellectual work of their
teaching through course portfolios. On April 9, the entire SOTL community
will be invited to participate in a poster session at the Spring Symposium,
which will also continue the annual SOTL strand of papers. In addition
to these group sessions, small, faculty-driven teams will be gathering
throughout the year to discuss and advance scholarship in special topics.
In support of SOTL activity, special individualized services are
available to help advance the skills and knowledge of those conducting
their own research in teaching and learning. Help with human subjects
protocols, literature review, and data gathering and analysis is open
to all. The SOTL web site (www.indiana.edu/~sotl/) will be adding several
new resources including an updated IRB page, a bibliography of SOTL publications
by local scholars, and an electronic library of SOTL articles. SOTL funding
opportunities are also posted on the web site and this year include a
leadership grant competition for departments and several smaller grants
for research by individual faculty members or collaborative teams of professors
and graduate students.
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Program in Bloomington has now
drawn over 800 individuals of all ranks and disciplines into a community
interested in examining education as an evidence-based and theory-framed
endeavor. The SOTL Program tries to provide multifaceted support for that
work so that teaching practice and its documentation, study, and dissemination
can maintain the highest goals and standards of scholarship. The SOTL
Advisory Council has worked especially hard this year to make plans that
will improve student learning by engaging the research talents and critical
skills of the faculty. The Council members and I seek to be responsive
to faculty interests and needs. If you have suggestions, comments, or
interests you would like to pursue, please don’t hesitate to contact
me directly (jenmetar@indiana.edu/812-855-9023) or to speak to a member
of the SOTL Advisory Council.
Jennifer Meta Robinson
Chair of the SOTL Advisory Council
Jennifer Meta Robinson directs the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Program and Campus Instructional Consulting at Indiana University Bloomington.
She also co-directs the Freshman Learning Project and coordinates IU’s
participation in the Pew-funded Peer Review of Teaching Course Portfolio
Initiative. In conference papers and presentations on SOTL, course portfolios,
and IU programs, Dr. Robinson highlights the important work of the IU
faculty on SOTL, contributes her own insights to our understanding of
educational issues, and looks for the best ideas to bring back to Bloomington.
She holds three degrees in English, culminating in the doctorate from
Indiana University. She is the author of articles on educational topics,
literature, and folklore. Her teaching experience spans 15 years and four
universities and has special concentration on students traditionally underrepresented
in higher education. In her consulting, Dr. Robinson helps faculty members
individually and in groups to reflect on their teaching, to make context-appropriate
innovations, and to assess their work formatively.
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