Scholarship of Teaching and Learning  

“Over the past few years I have noticed an increase in Duquesne faculty publishing on the scholarship of teaching and learning.  This is particularly apparent in promotion and tenure dossiers. I commend our faculty for conducting scholarship that not only serves our students in their learning but also contributes to the research on student learning within our disciplines.”

Ralph Pearson

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs 

Charlotte Redgate Myers, MLIS
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Gumberg Library
412.396.6133
myersc@duq.edu

& 

Leslie Lewis, MLIS
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Gumberg Library
412.396.5342
lewisl1146@duq.edu

Last Updated: 4/22/2013

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is the “systematic reflection on teaching and learning made public.” – Illinois State University

“The scholarship of teaching and learning involves systematic study of teaching and/or learning and the public sharing and review of such work through presentations or publications.” (Kathleen McKinney, “What is SoTL in Higher Education?”)

“The scholarship of teaching and learning addresses the intellectual work of the classroom, especially teaching and learning, as the focus of disciplinary-based learning, captures that work in appropriate formats for self-reflection or presentation to peers, and applies the results to practice.” (Barbara Cambridge, Fostering the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Communities of Practice, 2001)

Conducting Research on Student Learning at Duquesne: IRB How To's

Presenters: Joseph Kush (Education and IRB) & Laurel Willingham-McLain (CTE)

Wednesday, February 13, 12 noon - 1:30

The PowerPoint slides and a handout from the presentation are available at the bottom of this page. Anyone interested in acquiring an example IRB should contact Joe Kush directly at kush@duq.edu.

More and more faculty at Duquesne are conducting scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), and they are presenting and publishing their results in peer-reviewed venues. After a brief introduction to SoTL practices and sample projects, we will focus on the practical steps of obtaining Duquesne institutional review board (IRB) approval for conducting this research. Topics include:

• Knowing whether or not you need to get IRB approval. 

• Distinguishing your roles as teacher/grader and researcher. Separating the course grading process from your research. 

• Keeping the focus on learners, learning, and assessing the learning process.

• Knowing when you need to start the IRB process and how to go about it. 

• Protecting students from coercion.

• Best practies for recruiting practices.

• Protecting the anonymity and confidentiality of students. 

• Obtaining and completing the necessary documents, and getting approval. 

• Incorporating required classroom activities into voluntary research projects.

• Involving undergraduate and graduate student researchers at Duquesne. 

• Collaborating with research partners at different institutions. 

• Participants will receive a copy of a recent, specifically-tailored IRB approval packet.

Why conduct SoTL research?

• Improve teaching, learning, curriculum at DU

• Make it public through peer-reviewed presentations and publications

• Promotion & Tenure uses: varies by context at DU