How geographers can engage in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Workshop Title: How geographers can engage in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Facilitators:
- Veronica Hotton, vkh@sfu.ca PhD Candidate, Faculty of Education, SFU / MA Geography, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
- Eugene McCann, PhD, emccann@sfu.ca Professor, Department of Geography, SFU / Grantee, Teaching and Learning Development Grants program, SFU
- Cindy Xin, PhD, cxin@sfu.ca Educational Consultant, Teaching and Learning Centre, SFU / Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Education, SFU
Abstract: If the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) “is based on the straight-forward premise that academics should apply the same standards of scholarship to their teaching as they do to their research,” then how do geographers apply those standards (Foote 2011, 3)? This workshop will guide participants through an investigation structure that systematically researches teaching and learning in Geography that is based on the Teaching and Learning Development Grants program at Simon Fraser University (sfu.ca/tlgrants). A unique feature of the Grants program is that faculty members throughout the university come together to have teaching and learning conversations. Because Geography departments, like all disciplines, are diverse within themselves, SoTL work can bring together geographers around a common interest: student learning and teacher practice. We are directly tied to the Grants program as facilitators (Veronica and Cindy) and as a previous grantee (Eugene) and will therefore discuss how our experiences in geography and education support our work in higher education development.
Workshop preparation: Participants should bring teaching and learning questions of interest that they wish to study. Questions and inquires can be emailed ahead of time to Veronica.
Reference: Foote, K. (2011, April). President’s Column: Promoting the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Geography. AAG Newsletter, 46(4), 3. http://www.aag.org/galleries/newsletter-files/APRIL_2011_NL_final_lowres.pdf