Finding New Paths: Leveraging the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for Enhanced Librarianship Lauren Hays MidAmerica Nazarene University @Lib_Lauren Margy MacMillan Mount Royal University @margymaclibrary

Introduction Have you SoTLed? 1) _____ I have and I’m proud of it 2) _____ I might have but don’t know 3) _____ No, but I am SoTL curious 4) _____ What is SoTL? Will open with a knowledge survey/show of hands Put up hand showing number of fingers corresponding to response you feel closest to

Understanding learning Introduction SoTL – a brief definition How we came to SoTL Understanding learning Threshold concepts Assessment Micro to macro Research design Challenges SOTL IL Definition (will put this on handout) focused on student learning, grounded in context, methodologically sound, conducted in partnership with students, and publicly disseminated (Felten, 2013); inclusive and unified by its potential to have impact in the classroom and to contribute to the production of knowledge and ongoing improvement in teaching and learning; diverse in discipline, theory, methodology, and method. (MRU SoTL Institute) https://mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/FacultiesSchoolsCentres/InstituteforScholarshipofTeachingLearning/About/TheInstitute/index.htm Our stories Lauren and then me Intersection Actually hard to think of anything IL that might not apply to SoTL and vice versa Concerns (learning, teaching), tools (assessment), challenges – individual (time, access, ethics, expertise) and institutional (recognition, value, implementation of results)

SoTL Questions What is? What works? Visions of the possible New Conceptual Framework (Hutchings, 2000) p. 4-5

SoTL Compass What will my students learn and why is it worth learning? How do I know if my teaching and my students’ learning have been effective? Who are my students and how do students learn effectively? O’Brien What can I do to support students to learn effectively?

What’s in it for Librarians? Useful information on Research questions, research methods, pedagogical theories, teaching techniques, assessment, LEARNING… Finding SoTL work Adapting SoTL work to your needs Conducting SoTL Finding SoTL work – briefly – lives everywhere – discipline journals, institutional sites – best tools are google scholar and regular google Adapting SoTL work to your needs – approach with openness – look for methods, markers(evidence used), motivation Conducting SoTL - potential for funding, other support, partnership,

Faculty Development SoTL has had significant influence on faculty development programs : Scholarly teaching vs. teaching as scholarship Growth in teacher identity Why is this important for librarians? Focus is on STUDENT LEARNING SHARING findings is key CROSS-DISCIPLINE conversations Researchers have claimed that participation with SoTL is evidence of a growth in teacher identity among university professors (Mårtensson, Roxå, & Olsson, 2011) Fanghanel, J. (2013). Going Public with Pedagogical Inquiries: SoTL as a Methodology for Faculty Professional Development. Teaching & Learning Inquiry: The ISSOTL Journal, 1(1), 59–70. http://doi.org/10.2979/teachlearninqu.1.1.59

Faculty and Librarian Partnerships Centers for Teaching and Learning Communities of practice/Faculty learning communities Build on previous SoTL studies Room for many new studies Ideas suggested for SoTL studies in the Expanded Edition of Scholarship Reconsidered are: Studies on diverse learners Students on improving undergraduate STEM education Fanghanel, J. (2013). Going Public with Pedagogical Inquiries: SoTL as a Methodology for Faculty Professional Development. Teaching & Learning Inquiry: The ISSOTL Journal, 1(1), 59–70. http://doi.org/10.2979/teachlearninqu.1.1.59

Librarians as SoTL Researchers Strengths Opportunities Rewards Strengths – multidisciplinary by nature – addresses knock on SoTL of poor literature reviews, comfortable in the inbetween spaces, in working at micro level of indivdual sessions and macro level of program/institution initiatives Opportunities – funding, support, dissemination, collaboration, novelty/revitalization, depth Rewards – broader recognition(maybe) both inside and outside of institution, going beyond preaching to the choir, depth, engagement

Activity You have some abstracts from recent SoTL articles … Choose one (or more) that might apply to your work Develop a SoTL question or an idea for future research Tweet it or write it on the notecard #liwsotl

What’s next? We’ll post these ideas to help you get started in SoTL along with a reading list of key SoTL works Homework: Connect with at least one other SoTL researcher on or near your campus, online, etc.

Thank you! Questions? Connections? Applause?