Personal Reflection: Reflections on SoTL by a Casual Lecturer: Personal Benefits, Long-Term Challenges

Abstract

I have just completed my second year as a casual lecturer and have enjoyed engaging in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). However, my casual status has brought a number of challenges to ensuring my SoTL work has both long term and institutional impact. As the trend for casualisation in higher education continues across the world, I believe that the potential detriment it can cause to SoTL needs to be addressed by the SoTL community. This paper describes firstly a SoTL project I have carried out using a wiki-based assessment method. Secondly, it presents my reflections on the difficulties I face in continuing my SoTL work and feeding it into my department. Finally, it argues that employment on a casual basis can restrict SoTL potential and, consequently, it is time to ask how SoTL can still flourish in this type of environment.

Keywords

• Casual workforce
• Wiki
• SoTL challenges
• Isolation