What is SoTL?
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is an evidence-based approach to systematically investigating our teaching—and student learning—within our specific educational contexts and disseminating these works through scholarly outlets. If you would like to start a SoTL project, contact Sarah McCorkle.
“[W]e see SoTL as inquiry into teaching and learning for the purposes of improving teaching and learning in context and contributing to what we know about teaching and learning, in support of the broader aims of higher education.” Chick, Felten, and Mårtensson (2025, p. 10)
There are many approaches to SoTL projects. An individual instructor may share a classroom management strategy, a group of instructors may investigate the effects of a teaching technique on student outcomes, or a department may examine the impact of a resource implemented across multiple course sections. Students can also participate as SoTL partners by co-authoring projects with instructors.
SoTL came about in response to Boyer’s (1990) call for a scholarship of teaching
and Shulman’s (1993) position that instructors should document and make public
their teaching efforts through peer review and scholarly dissemination. Distinct
from education research conducted by faculty of education, SoTL work can be conducted
and authored by instructors in any academic discipline.
Why Join the Scholarly Conversation on Teaching?
Through the dissemination of our teaching practices, we can make visible the artifacts of our teaching for review, critique and exchange (Shulman, 1993), which can also serve to demonstrate and document our teaching efforts for annual review, promotion, or tenure.
“I now believe that the reason teaching is not more valued in the academy is because the way we treat teaching removes it from the community of scholars.” Shulman (1993, p. 6)
The act of preparing a manuscript or responding to a call for proposals invites us to slow down, reflect on our practice, make meaning of our experience, and gather evidence to support our claims. When we approach our teaching with this intentionality, we can: 1) improve our teaching by making evidence-based decisions for the benefit of our students; and 2) encourage others to adopt these evidence-based practices in their classrooms by making our teaching efforts public. The goal of SoTL work is to enhance the educational experience for our students and improve higher education teaching practices to increase student learning.
Interested in Getting Started?
Many authors have described and defined the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), with each description of the practice building upon prior iterations to further legitimize SoTL as a rigorous approach of scholarly inquiry. This resource page serves as an invitation to the WVU community to learn more about SoTL and join the scholarly conversation by exploring, documenting, and disseminating their teaching practices.
The population and sample sizes from our own classrooms are often small, leading to misconceptions about the possibilities for sharing these works. By selecting an appropriate research method suited to the nature of our inquiry (Merriam, 1998), these teaching practices can be disseminated as peer reviewed scholarship for the benefit of other instructors and their students.
"Innovative programs and practices are often the focus of descriptive case studies in education. Such studies often form a database for future comparison and theory building (p. 38)." " Educational processes, problems, and programs can be examined to bring about understanding that in turn can affect and perhaps even improve practice (p. 41)."
Merriam (1998)
Approaches to Scholarly Dissemination
The WVU Teaching and Learning Center has not adopted a single SoTL framework or definition. Instead, we typically describe scholarly dissemination opportunities as systematic, empirical research and applied, teaching practitioner scholarship. Results from both approaches are publishable in appropriate academic journals and can be presented at national, international, and regional conferences on teaching and learning .
Scholarly teaching can be thought of as a spectrum, ranging from IRB-approved research employing rigorous methods to what Huber and Hutchings (2005) framed as more modest scholarly efforts, such as applying what we’ve learned from the existing literature as we reflect upon and share our teaching publicly so that other instructors might learn from us and adopt evidence-based practices.
Systematic, Empirical Research on Teaching and Learning
This approach invites you to conduct a systematic investigation of research questions on teaching and learning, within a specific educational context, using research methods of your choice. Following the five Principles of Good Practice in SoTL (Felten, 2013), aim for rigorous approaches as you plan your project. SoTL research usually involves the collection of student (or course) data—considered human subjects research—and may therefore need approval from WVU’s Office of Human Research Protections. (This process consists of basic questions about your study which are reviewed to ensure the safety of our students.) Work of this kind is often disseminated through peer-reviewed SoTL journals, interdisciplinary journals on teaching and learning, and discipline-specific journals with sections dedicated to teaching and learning (see Teaching Journals Directory, Kennesaw State University).
Applied, Teaching-Practitioner Scholarship on Effective Practices
This approach is an invitation to explore the existing peer reviewed literature on college teaching and student learning to inform your practice, refine your practice, and support the decisions you make about your instructional practice. By reading this literature closely, you can begin to critically reflect upon your teaching and your students’ learning. Cite the existing literature as you share your experiences, contexts, teaching tips, classroom management efficiencies, and lessons learned – for the benefit of other instructors and their students’ learning. This scholarly approach to teaching is often disseminated through a genre called “teaching briefs,” “teaching reflections,” or “great ideas for teaching” found in dedicated sections of peer reviewed teaching journals (WVU MIX login required) or teaching publications such as The Teaching Professor (WVU login required).
Sources and Recommended Reading
Boyer, E. L. (1990). Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the professoriate. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. [ eBook Available from WVU Libraries ]
Bishop-Clark, C. & Dietz-Uhler, B. (2012). Engaging in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: A guide to the process, and how to develop a project from start to finish. Stylus Publishing, LLC. [ WVU Libraries ]
Chick, N. L., Felten, P. & Mårtensson, K. (2025). The SoTL Guide: (Re)Orienting the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Elon University Center for Engaged Learning. [ Open Access eBook ]
Chick, N. L. (2018). SoTL in Action: Illuminating critical moments of practice . Stylus Publishing, LLC. [ eBook available from WVU Libraries ]
Felten, Peter. (2013). Principles of Good Practice in SoTL. Teaching & Learning Inquiry: The ISSOTL Journal, 1(1), 121-125. [ Open Access Journal ]
Huber, M. T., & Hutchings, P. (2005). The Advancement of Learning: Building the teaching commons. Jossey-Bass. [ WVU Libraries ]
Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative Research and Case Study Applications in Education (2nd ed.) . Jossey-Bass. [ WVU Libraries ]
Miller-Young, J. & Chick, N. L. (2024). Becoming a SoTL Scholar. Elon University Center for Engaged Learning. [ Open Access eBook ]
Shulman, L. S. (1993). Teaching as Community Property: Putting an end to pedagogical solitude. Change, 25(6), 6–7. [ WVU Libraries ]