Going Public with Pedagogical Inquiries: SoTL as a Methodology for Faculty Professional Development

Abstract

In this paper, I discuss SoTL as a methodology for the professional development of academics. I propose that as an agentic form of inquiry that focuses on processes, boundary-crossing, and making pub lic its findings, SoTL is a sophisticated methodology that brings the activities of teaching and research in close alignment, and contributes to developing an approach to inquiry that differs from what I have called "managed" research. I propose that, as a methodology for professional development, SoTL provides a space for dialogic critique of singular investigations into practice that contribute to advancing in di vidual and collective knowledge of the field of higher education. I argue that in a context where approaches to practice have become driven by competitivity and international rankings that rely on objectivist understandings of practice for their judgments, SoTL presents an alternative, rich model of practice.

Growing partnership communities: What experiences of an international institute suggest about developing student-staff partnership in higher education

“…Nevertheless, it is also notable that participants continued to reiterate many of the benefits of the SI nearly one year after its completion. Unlike academics who abandon ideas learned in educational development initiatives upon returning to their day-to-day work (Fanghanel, 2013), some participants reported implementing partnership projects developed at the SI, initiating new ones, and inviting new people in their home contexts into the process (including some participants at the 2017 institute, who noted they had been engaged in partnership initiatives by colleagues returning from the 2016 event). While the specifics of participants' contexts impinged on whether and how they followed up, they generally reported that the SI was an energising experience that generated ideas for moving forward-even when institutional climates might feel inhospitable and change might be slow and uneven.…”

Supporting SoTL Development through Communities of Practice

“…Support-and maybe, more importantly, visible support-for SoTL within a department could lead to more sharing and discussion of practice, more opportunities for communities of practice to form, and the benefits of SoTL being seen on a wider scale. Fanghanel (2013) proposes that the approach of SoTL-a focus on processes, boundary (discipline) crossing, and making findings public-makes a useful and sophisticated methodology for professional development.…”

A self-defined professional development approach for current and aspiring educational developers

“…While we have used a reflective framework (Rolfe et al, 2001) as our methodology for writing this article, and our framing of assessment measures is in keeping with underlying principles of utilization-focused evaluation, we would like to identify or develop an overarching methodology for the approach. Inasmuch as our approach reflects the principles of SoTL, SoTL has also functioned as a tool for professional development, as we have taken a collaborative approach to enhancing our practice (Fanghanel, 2013).…”