SoTL

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is the systematic inquiry undertaken by an instructor to understand the effectiveness of their teaching practices on their students' learning outcomes and experiences and disseminating their findings. The ultimate goal of SoTL is to improve student learning through the rigorous, scholarly examination of one's own teaching practices and eventual publication of the results. SoTL research can be conducted by instructors in any discipline and is a widely used standard for evaluating excellence in teaching for promotion and tenure.

The Center for Teaching and Learning provides support to faculty who are interested in conducting research on their teaching. This support includes offering programs and events on SoTL, consultations on developing SoTL research questions, designing a study, completing paperwork for the institutional review board, data collection methods, data analysis techniques, and dissemination of findings.

NOTE: CTL's SoTL Programs and Events will be posted on this page.

2025 Summer SoTL Journal Club

Felten (2013)’s five principles of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) state that SoTL is “inquiry focused on student learning… grounded in both scholarly and local context… methodologically sound… conducted in partnership with students… [and] involves ‘going public” (p. 122). A robust literature review is thus a foundational step for a successful SoTL study, as in any disciplinary research, and journal clubs can provide a collaborative, interdisciplinary setting to explore and critique SoTL literature and consider applications to one’s specific teaching/research contexts.    

The SoTL Journal Club will provide participants the opportunity to explore SoTL literature through structured discussions and reflections and consider applications to their own SoTL interests/projects and teaching practice.  While participants will be encouraged to apply their disciplinary research lens to this literature review process, the interdisciplinary nature of SoTL has the potential to spark innovative ideas and research methodologies for furthering one’s own disciplinary research.  

The Summer SoTL Journal Club will:

  • guide participants in learning more about SoTL literature in order to use it for their own SoTL studies and promotion and/or tenure efforts.
  • enhance conversations about scholarly teaching and SoTL, while improving participants’ teaching practice and research productivity.
  • continue to expand the community of instructors interested in SoTL and create opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations.

Journal Club Details

The Summer SoTL Journal Club will meet virtually on three Tuesdays - May 13, June 3, and June 17 - from 10 – 11 a.m. 

Articles:

  • Article for the first meeting: Hostetter, C. (2013). Community matters: Social presence and learning outcomes. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 13(1), 77-86.
  • Articles for second and third meetings will be chosen based on registrants’ disciplines. Articles and an empty outline with discussion prompts will be shared with participants two weeks in advance.

  • For Deeper Dive into SoTL: The CTL has purchased free eBook copies of the following two highly reviewed SoTL books. All journal club participants will have free access to these books.
    • Chick, N. L. (Ed.). (2023). SoTL in action: Illuminating critical moments of practice. Taylor & Francis.
    • Yeo, M., Miller-Young, J., & Manarin, K. (2023). SoTL research methodologies: A guide to conceptualizing and conducting the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Taylor & Francis.
  • Access to the Assessment Institute: Journal club participants who attend all three meetings and submit reflections will be eligible to receive 1 of 5 complimentary registration to the 2025 Assessment Institute. All participants will be eligible to receive the early bird registration rate for the conference. The Assessment Institute in Indianapolis is the nation’s oldest and largest event focused on assessing and improving higher education.
  • Opportunity for a conference presentation: Three to five participants will also be invited to serve on a panel about their journal club experiences and outcomes at the 2025 Assessment Institute!

Carol Hostetter is Professor Emerita from the School of Social Work at Indiana University, having joined the faculty in 2001.  She has won many teaching awards, including the top teaching award for all eight campuses of Indiana University. Dr. Hostetter has been a leader in Indiana University’s teaching academy, FACET (Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching) as well as in Indiana University’s Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) program. Her SOTL grants, presentations and publications focus on social presence in online courses, high-impact practices and learning analytics.  Carol serves as CTL’s SoTL Fellow this summer.