Facilitating Faculty Getting Started in SoTL

Abstract

ABSTRACT: SoTL has been embraced as a viable approach to professional development for higher education faculty. Workshops and programs of various types and lengths have offered guidance and provided mentorship for SoTL novices. Many books, manuals, and websites describe how to undertake a SoTL investigation, but far fewer sources of advice exist for those assisting faculty beginning in SoTL. In this article, two Carnegie scholars reflect on their experiences and lessons learned helping others join the SoTL community. They discuss common characteristics of the new scholars they encountered and the types of assistance, both intellectual and institutional, that the scholars needed. They offer advice and suggest resources for working with new SoTL scholars and describe some of the benefits that accrue from this work.

Keywords

• Scholarship of teaching and learning, SoTL, faculty development, SoTL scholars, mentoring