The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning II
Planning a SoTL Project
Welcome!
Please sit in groups of four
and introduce yourselves to those you don’t know.
Assign Roles
• The manager is the person
whose first name is first
alphabetically. [Will work on
Assessment Strategy #1.]
• The presenter is the person to
the left of the manager. [Will
work on Assessment Strategy #3.]
• The fourth person in the group is
• The recorder is the person to the the timekeeper. [Will work on
right of the manager. [Will work
Assessment Strategy #4.]
on Assessment Strategy #2.]
Workshop Goals
Participants in this workshop will:
• Explore a variety of ways in which evidence of
student learning can be collected for SoTL projects
• Consider the logistical steps that must be taken to
execute a SoTL project
• Create a plan for getting a SoTL project started
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
The POGIL Project’s working definition of SoTL:
Investigations that begin with the purpose of understanding
and improving teaching and learning within a classroom or
institution, leading to results that can be shared beyond your
classroom.
All SoTL projects start with a question focused in a particular
area (see Examples of Classroom Questions)
• Types of SoTL questions
• Focus Areas
What is your SoTL question?
Take 1 minute to free-write on your index
card so you have a SoTL question in mind
during the session.
OR… choose/modify a question from the sheet of
example questions (and write it on your index card)
SoTL Question Round Robin
In your group, read each SoTL question out
loud, without discussion
1. Start with manager, proceed to manager’s left
2. Raise a hand when your table is done
What To Do with Your Question?
• What kind of data do you need to collect to
address your question?
• What kind of assessment strategies will you
use to generate the data?
• When or how often will you collect data?
• What are your data likely to look like?
• How will you analyze the data?
Exploring Assessment Strategies
with JIGSAW
• Manager = group member #1
• Recorder = group member #2
• Presenter = group member #3
• Timekeeper = group member #4
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/coursedesign/tutorial/jigsaw.html
Expert Group Set-Up
• Proceed to your Expert Group (5 min).
• Expert Group manager:
• Person whose institution name is earliest
alphabetically
• Keeps group on task
• Recognize that each group member will serve
as a presenter back in your home group
• Consider taking notes you can use
Expert Group Exploration
• Review your assigned strategy (1 min).
• As a group (12 min):
1 Identify an example of a SoTL question for which
this kind of assessment might be valuable.
2 Discuss how the data might be collected, what the
data would look like, and how they could be
analyzed.
3 Be prepared to present your topic to your home
group.
4 If you have time, repeat for a second SoTL question.
Home Group Discussion
Return to your home group.
Each Expert presents and leads a discussion
about his or her SoTL questions and data
collection strategy (5 min).
Individual Planning
for Data Collection
• Consider your tentative research question.
• Choose one or more types of data that would be most useful in
addressing your question.
• Identify a logistical strategy for collecting the data:
• When will data be collected, and from whom?
• Will the data be anonymous or not?
• Will the instructor collect the data, or will someone else?
• How will the data be analyzed?
• Is IRB approval needed for the use of human subjects?
• Does your research question need to be modified in light of data
collection strategies?
(7 min)
Reporting and Group Feedback
• Each group member takes 4 minutes to share ideas
and get feedback (16 min):
1. Member presents his/her ideas (2 min)
2. Member listens and takes notes while others offer
questions and suggestions (2 min)
• After 4 minutes, move to the next group member
• After all group members have received feedback,
take 5 minutes for individual work to consolidate
ideas.
Wrap-up
• In groups, discuss something you learned
today that helps you to be more prepared to
begin a SoTL project.
• If time permits, choose one insight to share
with the other groups.
Get Started!
• Start collecting data
• Follow your data-collection plan
• Consider keeping track of other data that might not seem immediately
useful, but could be valuable later (scans of exams and homework
assignments, student self-assessments, etc.)
• Remember that some projects yield results quickly, but
most take several semesters of data collection, plus trial
and error
• Your SoTL question might need focusing or redirection
• Your data collection might need broadening or narrowing
• The information you collect should inform your teaching, and possibly be
able to be compiled into a report for use beyond your classroom.
• Don’t hesitate to ask for help