{"id":4370,"date":"2017-06-07T11:43:41","date_gmt":"2017-06-07T18:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/?p=4370"},"modified":"2017-06-07T11:43:41","modified_gmt":"2017-06-07T18:43:41","slug":"research-on-teaching-and-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/2017\/06\/07\/research-on-teaching-and-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

Since I first heard about the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), I\u2019ve been intrigued by this area of research.<\/p>\n

I was copied on a Tweet this week from Nick Byrd, asking about where to find empirical studies and experiments about education practices\/outcomes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tweet from Nick Byrd regarding his search for empirical studies and experiments about education practices\/outcomes.<\/a><\/p>\n

Someone<\/a> replied to his request with this article from The Association for Psychological Science<\/a>, which seems like a helpful resource.<\/p>\n

However, I had a much longer reply that has been formulating in my mind since he first inquired. In this post, I\u2019ll explore the broad area of study surrounding the effectiveness of education, as well as some of the subdomains under the broader research area that I find particularly interesting.<\/p>\n

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning<\/h2>\n

The broad area of this kind of research tends to fit under the domain of The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (or #SoTL on Twitter<\/a>).<\/p>\n

In researching items for this blog post, it would seem that #SoTL also has something to do with cigars (unrelated to our discussion of #SoTL). It can be unfortunate when a hashtag gets some overlap like that, but it was easy enough to skip over to focus on items of particular interest to me. To skip over any cigar references, the newly-established #SoTLchat<\/a> hashtag is solely focused on conversations around the scholarship of teaching and learning.<\/p>\n

Anyone interested in pursuing this research area may benefit from this article with \u201cAdvice for New SoTL Researchers<\/a>\u201d from the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL). Another good starting point is this related discussion on Good Practices in SoTL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Getting a background on the ethics involved in conducting this form of research<\/a> is also important. The University of Calgary provided this overview of their ethical review of their research<\/a> on teaching and learning.<\/p>\n

In attempting to answer Nick\u2019s question, I knew that I would be insufficient to address the wide-ranging areas that this body of research explores.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to discuss some of the parts of the scholarship of teaching and learning that I\u2019ve read the most about. I also encourage you to browse the current and past issues of the Journal of Teaching and Learning Inquiry<\/a> to find those topics that provide the most interest for you.<\/p>\n

Research on Learning<\/h2>\n

At the risk of oversimplification, most of us want to know whether or not what we are attempting to do in our teaching is actually going to work. Or, if we\u2019re already convinced of the benefits to our experimentation, we may come across skeptics who want to know the efficacy of our recommendations.<\/p>\n

Past episodes of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast that most relate to these questions are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Episode #094 with Pooja Agarwal<\/a> on retrieval practice. \u201cWhen we think about learning, we typically focus on getting information into students\u2019 heads. What if, instead, we focus on getting information out of students\u2019 heads?\u201d The Retrieval Practice website<\/a> is full of resources for exploring the research behind this approach to teaching.<\/li>\n
  2. Episode #072 with Robert Bjork<\/a> on cognitive psychology also emphasizes retrieval practice, as well as the role that forgetting plays in our learning.<\/li>\n
  3. Episode #132 with Saundra McGuire<\/a> on how to teach students how to learn. Her background as a chemistry professor had her continually seeking ways to support her students in their learning. Her interview with ACUE helps us understand \u201cwhat changed the trajectory of her research and scholarship.\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Episode #069 with Meg Urry<\/a> on correcting mental models shares approaches we can use to help our students grasp complex information. As a professor of physics and astronomy, she recognizes that \u201creal learning takes time,\u201d and offers a prescriptive checklist for solving problems to help students think more critically.<\/li>\n
  5. Episode #135 with Sarah Rose Cavanagh<\/a> on her book, The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom with the Science of Emotion discusses the role that emotions play in learning.<\/li>\n
  6. Episode #062 with Rebecca Campbell<\/a> on the power of mindset. She shares on the episode, \u201cIt isn\u2019t about teaching differently, but about framing the conversation differently.\u201d She also describes ways to help students achieve more of a growth mindset, based on the research.<\/li>\n
  7. Episode #047 with Todd Zakrajsek<\/a> provides similar information as the episode with Rebecca, only this time regarding metacognition. He describes it as \u201cthinking about thinking; knowing when you know.\u201d<\/li>\n
  8. Espidoes #037 with Tine Reimers<\/a> did a deep dive on the research that explores approaches to developing critical thinking skills. The show notes include Tine\u2019s taxonomy of some of the critical thinking theories and suggestions for how to grow critical thinking in our students.<\/li>\n
  9. Episode #016 with Josh Eyler<\/a> looks at biology, the brain, and learning. On the episode, he provide a framework for a biological basis of learning and recommends resources from Harvard\u2019s graduate school of education on the mind, the brain, and education.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Books Worth Reading on Related Topics<\/h2>\n

    In addition to the books that were highlighted in the episodes, above, I also must mention two of my favorite reads related to teaching and learning.<\/p>\n