How CATT Can Help You Turn Your Teaching into Research

It is easy for faculty to become overwhelmed with the dual responsibilities of their profession, having to simultaneously engage in effective teaching while producing significant scholarship. This commitment is not new, but what many faculty do not realize is that the work they are doing in their classrooms can, with some deliberate steps, be turned into publications. If you haven’t thought much about the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning as it relates to your teaching practice, the Office of Curriculum, Assessment and Teaching Transformation is here to help. 

According to Hutchings & Shulman, “Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is the systematic inquiry into student learning and teaching practices in higher education.”

There are considerable benefits for faculty looking to participate in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. From a professional development standpoint, participating in inquiry, particularly adjacent to or outside of one’s home discipline, affords an opportunity for scholarly growth. It also provides a reflective metacognitive exercise as faculty seek to identify and continually refine efficacious pedagogy: “What is working in my classroom and how can these methods be used to help other students?” Not only are faculty able to do this for their own understanding, but being able to contribute to a larger body of knowledge in and beyond their field is at the heart of what academia is about. This type of professional development occurs regularly at R1 institutions, including UB. For example, our office has led a learning environments design focus study, as well as having conducted a series of large classroom focus groups which seek to better understand positive learning environments for faculty and students’ needs as it relates to space. At our recent Inclusive Pedagogy Conference, we hosted a panel discussion specifically relating to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning where faculty and students weighed in on the importance of this endeavor toward pedagogical improvement. where faculty and students weighed in on the importance of this endeavor toward pedagogical improvement. 

If you are having difficulty conceptualizing how you might engage in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, we have some recommendations for best practices. First, begin with an authentic need to know, and develop a research question which makes sense for you and your students. In short, this is not an overnight endeavor; like any published research, it will take time to consider your research question and methods. Next, we suggest taking a strengths-based approach, which can highlight the impact of your teaching upon your students. You’ll also want to start small, perhaps piloting your research in one particular section of your classes, and then gradually scale up. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on the process and consider ways to continuously improve the project, and share your resources and findings with colleagues and peers. What is most important is that student success be the driving factor in your work, whereby students will be involved at all phases of this project. 

We are eager to support faculty in this area of professional development at UB. We’re actively cultivating our Community of Practice for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning to help like-minded faculty consider if delving into this area is right for them and their students. Here, faculty will have the opportunity to discuss their potential projects with fellow faculty members, get support with problems they are experiencing or questions they may have, and refine their project as they see it mature from concept to publication. We have also created a website that provides information relevant to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, including a glossary of relevant terms, methodologies related to SoTL, resources for engagement, and a showcase for faculty who have already begun working with our office on their projects. We want to recognize the hard work that faculty are doing in this area, and our office is ready, willing, and able to accommodate. Consider taking the first step and contacting us to help you turn your SoTL vision into a reality! 

Hutchings, P., & Shulman, L. S. (1999). The Scholarship of Teaching: New Elaborations, New Developments. Change (New Rochelle, N.Y.), 31(5), 10–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091389909604218  Retrieved from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00091389909604218