Moving from Effective Teaching to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)

1
Moving from Effective Teaching to the Scholarship
of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Karl A. Smith Engineering Education Purdue
University Civil Engineering - University of
Minnesota ksmith_at_umn.edu - http//www.ce.umn.edu/
smith/ Michigan State University Lilly Seminar
Series Workshop September 2009
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Scholarship Reconsidered Priorities of the
Professoriate Ernest L. Boyer

• The Scholarship of Discovery, research that
  increases the storehouse of new knowledge within
  the disciplines
• The Scholarship of Integration, including efforts
  by faculty to explore the connectedness of
  knowledge within and across disciplines, and
  thereby bring new insights to original research
• The Scholarship of Application, which leads
  faculty to explore how knowledge can be applied
  to consequential problems in service to the
  community and society and
• The Scholarship of Teaching, which views teaching
  not as a routine task, but as perhaps the highest
  form of scholarly enterprise, involving the
  constant interplay of teaching and learning.

Boyer, Ernest L. 1990. Scholarship reconsidered
Priorities for the professoriate. Princeton, NJ
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
Teaching.
3
It could well be that faculty members of the
twenty-first century college or university will
find it necessary to set aside their roles as
teachers and instead become designers of learning
experiences, processes, and environments.
James Duderstadt, 1999 Nuclear Engineering
Professor Dean, Provost and President of the
University of Michigan
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Workshop Layout

• Welcome Overview
• Background
• Boyer Scholarship Reconsidered
• Hutchings Shulman Levels of Inquiry
• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
• Definition
• Participant Survey
• Rationale
• Resources
• Practice
• Educational Research in the Disciplines Example
  from Engineering
• Summary and Next Steps

5
Workshop Objectives

• Participants will be able to
• Describe key features of SoTL and Educational
  Research
• Explain rationale for SoTL
• Identify SoTL opportunities courses and programs

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Hutchings Shulman Levels of Inquiry

• Level 0 Teacher
• Teach as taught
• Level 1 Effective Teacher
• Teach using accepted teaching theories and
  practices
• Level 2 Scholarly Teacher
• Assesses performance and makes improvements
• Level 3 Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
• Engages in educational experimentation, shares
  results
• Level 4 Engineering Education Researcher
• Conducts educational research, publishes archival
  papers

Source Streveler, R., Borrego, M. and Smith,
K.A. 2007. Moving from the Scholarship of
Teaching and Learning to Educational Research
An Example from Engineering. Improve the Academy,
Vol. 25, 139-149.
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Scholarly Teaching and the Scholarship of
Teaching and Learning

• Scholarly teaching The instructor
• is aware of modern pedagogical developments and
  incorporates them in his/her teaching where
  appropriate
• reflects on, assesses, and attempts to improve
  his/her teaching (classroom research)
• Scholarship of teaching and learning Research,
  publication, possibly grants on work related to
  education

Hutchings Shulman
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Participant Survey

• Individually Reflect on SoTL Activities
• Published articles on teaching learning?
• Subscribe to teaching journals?
• Read/skim teaching journals?
• Attended teaching conferences/workshops?
• Other activity in scholarship of teaching and
  learning?
• Discuss in Groups of 3-4
• Introduce yourselves
• Share SoTL experiences/activities
• Prepare 2-3 stories to share if randomly selected

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Why should we care about SoTL?
January 2, 2009Science, Vol. 323
www.sciencemag.org
January 13, 2009New York Times http//www.nytimes
.com/2009/01/13/us/13physics.html?em
One Reason Calls for evidence-based teaching
practices
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Why do SoTL?

• Fosters significant, long-lasting learning for
  all students
• Enhances practice and profession of teaching
• Brings facultys work as teachers into the
  scholarly realm.
• ?

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The Basic Features of Scholarly and Professional
Work

• The activity requires a high level of discipline-
  related expertise.
• The activity breaks new ground, is innovative.
• The activity can be replicated or elaborated.
• The work and its results can be documented.
• The work and its results can be peer-reviewed.
• The activity has significance or impact.

Adapted from Diamond R. Adam, B. 1993.
Recognizing faculty work Reward systems for the
year 2000. San Francisco, CA Jossey-Bass.
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Basic Features of Professional and Scholarly Work

• It requires a high level of discipline-related
  expertise
• It is conducted in a scholarly manner with clear
  goals, adequate preparation, and appropriate
  methodology
• The work and its results are appropriately and
  effectively documented and disseminated. This
  reporting should include a reflective critique
  that addresses the significance of the work, the
  process that was used, and what was learned.
• It has significance beyond the individual
  context.
• It breaks new ground or is innovative.
• It can be replicated or elaborated on.
• The work both process and product or result is
  reviewed and judged to be meritorious and
  significant by a panel of ones peers.

Diamond, R., The Mission-Driven Faculty Reward
System, in R.M. Diamond, Ed., Field Guide to
Academic Leadership, San Francisco Jossey-Bass,
2002
13
http//www.carnegiefoundation.org/CASTL/highered/i
ndex.htm (Accessed 9/1/09)
14
http//www.cfkeep.org/html/snapshot.php?id7219139
4 (Accessed 8/30/09)
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Faculty involved in SOTL frame and
systematically investigate questions related to
student learningthe conditions under which it
occurs, what it looks like, how to deepen it,
etc. and do so with an eye not only to improving
their own classrooms but also to advancing
practice beyond it. What differentiates SOTL
from the ongoing self-assessment of our own
teaching is that it is public, peer-reviewed and
critiqued, and exchanged with other members of
our professional communities. Pat Hutchings
and Lee Shulman of the Carnegie Foundation
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SoTL Practice

• Setting Purdue University
• 2nd Year Engineering Course Statics
• Instructor emphasis (student learning outcomes)
• Estimation skills
• Systematic problem formulation and solving
• Watch video with viewing partner (faculty focus
  student focus)
• Identify potential questions for SoTL study

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Types of Questions

• Instructional Knowledgecomponents of
  instructional design
• Pedagogical Knowledgestudent learning how to
  facilitate it
• Curricular Knowledgegoals, purposes rationales
  for courses or programs

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3 types of reflection within each form of
knowledge

• ContentWhat should I do
• ProcessHow did I do
• PremiseWhy does it matter

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Examples for process reflection

• How did I (we) do at
• Course design, methods assessing effectively?
  (instructional)
• Facilitating student knowledge? Was I
  successful? (pedagogical)
• Arriving at goals rationale for courses?
  (curricular)

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Think-Pair-Share

• Are you interested in developing a SoTL project?
  Why-why not?
• If yes, what question(s) would you explore?
• What organizational challenges do you face?

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Engineering Education Research
Colleges and universities should endorse research
in engineering education as a valued and rewarded
activity for engineering faculty and should
develop new standards for faculty qualifications.
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objectives for engineering practice, research,
and education To adopt a systemic,
research-based approach to innovation and
continuous improvement of engineering
education, recognizing the importance of
diverse approachesalbeit characterized by
quality and rigorto serve the highly
diverse technology needs of our society
http//milproj.ummu.umich.edu/publications/EngFlex
20report/download/EngFlex20Report.pdf
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Hutchings Shulman Levels of Inquiry

• Level 0 Teacher
• Teach as taught
• Level 1 Effective Teacher
• Teach using accepted teaching theories and
  practices
• Level 2 Scholarly Teacher
• Assesses performance and makes improvements
• Level 3 Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
• Engages in educational experimentation, shares
  results
• Level 4 Engineering Education Researcher
• Conducts educational research, publishes archival
  papers

Source Streveler, R., Borrego, M. and Smith,
K.A. 2007. Moving from the Scholarship of
Teaching and Learning to Educational Research
An Example from Engineering. Improve the Academy,
Vol. 25, 139-149.
24
Engineering Education Research RREE 1
(Streveler Smith)

• Rigorous Research in Engineering Education
  (RREE1)
• One-week summer workshop, year-long research
  project
• Funded by National Science Foundation (NSF),
  2004-2006
• About 150 engineering faculty participated
• Goals
• Identify engineering faculty interested in
  conducting engineering education research
• Develop faculty knowledge and skills for
  conducting engineering education research
  (especially in theory and research methodology)
• Cultivate the development of a Community of
  Practice of faculty conducting engineering
  education research

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Conducting Rigorous Research in Engineering
Education Creating a Community of Practice (RREE)

• NSF-CCLI-ND
• American Society for Engineering Education
• Karl Smith Ruth Streveler
• University of Minnesota/Purdue University
• Colorado School of Mines/Purdue University

Presenters and evaluators representing - American
Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) -
American Educational Research Association
(AERA) - Professional and Organizational
Development Network in Higher Education (POD)
Faculty also funded by Strengthening HBCU
Engineering Education Research Capacity (NSF
HRDF-041194) - Council of HBCU Engineering
Deans - Center for the Advancement of Scholarship
in Engineering Education (CASEE) - National
Academy of Engineering (NAE)
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RREE Approach
(study grounded in theory/conceptual framework)
(appropriate design and methodology)
(implications for teaching)
http//inside.mines.edu/research/cee/ND.htm
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Research can be inspired by
Use (Applied)
No Yes
Yes Pure basic research (Bohr) Use-inspired basic research (Pasteur)
No Pure applied research (Edison)
Understanding (Basic)
Source Stokes, D. 1997. Pasteurs quadrant
Basic science and technological innovation.
Washington, DC Brookings Institution.
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RREE2

• Follow-up proposal has been awarded (RREE2)
• Funded by NSF, 2008-2011, Expanding and
  Sustaining Research Capacity in Engineering and
  Technology Education
• Includes a series of 5 short courses
• 1) Fundamentals of Educational Research
• 2) Identifying Theoretical Frameworks
• 3) Designing Your Research Study
• 4) Collaborating with Learning and Social
  Scientists
• 5) Understanding Qualitative Research
• Materials available on the WWW as they become
  available
• Collaboratory for Engineering Education Research
  (cleerHUB)

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Guiding principles for
scientific research in education
1. Pose significant questions that can be
investigated empirically 2. Link research to
relevant theory 3. Use methods that permit direct
investigation of the question 4. Provide
coherent, explicit chain of reasoning 5. Replicate
and generalize across studies 6. Disclose
research to encourage professional scrutiny and
critique
Source Scientific Research in Education,
National Research Council, 2002
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The research process and reasoning
Practical Problem
motivates
and helps
Research Question
Research Answer
informs
leads to
Warrant
Research Problem
Claim Reason Evidence
Research Process
Acknowledgment and Response
Research Reasoning
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An emerging global community

• Groups, centers, departments
• Engineering education societies
• Forums for dissemination

What follows is a sample it is NOT an
exhaustive list!
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Groups, centers, departments
EERG
UCPBLEE
CEER
ELC
ESC
CRLT North
Purdue
CELT
CASEE
VT
Utah St
Clemson
FIC
UTM
UDALP
NITTTR
CREE
UICEE
Engineering Teaching and Learning Centers ?
Australia UICEE, UNESCO International Centre for
Engineering Education Denmark UCPBLEE, UNESCO
Chair in Problem Based Learning in Engineering
Education South Africa CREE, Centre for
Research in Engineering Education, U of Cape
Town Sweden Engineering Education Research
Group, Linköping U UK ESC, Engineering Subject
Centre, Higher Education Academy USA CELT,
Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching, U
of Washington CRLT North, Center for Research on
Learning and Teaching, U of Michigan Faculty
Innovation Center, U of Texas-Austin Engineering
Learning Center, U of Wisconsin-Madison CASEE,
Center for the Advancement of Scholarship in
Engineering Education, National Academy of
Engineering CEER, Center for Engineering
Education Research, Michigan State U. Engineering
Education Degree-granting Departments ? USA
School of Engineering Education, Purdue U
Department of Engineering Education, Virginia
Tech Department of Engineering and Science
Education, Clemson U Department of Engineering
and Technology Education, Utah State U Malaysia
Engineering Education PhD program, Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia India National Institute for
Technical Teacher Training and Research. Mexico
Universidad de las Americas, Puebla
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Engineering education societies
Societies with Engineering Education Research
Groups ? ASEE, American Society for Engineering
Education, Educational Research Methods Division
SEFI, Société Européenne pour la Formation des
Ingénieurs (European Society for Engineering
Education), Engineering Education Research
Working Group Australasian Association for
Engineering Education, Engineering Education
Research Working Group Community of Engineering
Education Research Scholars, Latin America and
Caribbean Consortium for Engineering
Institutions Societies with Engineering Education
Research Interests ? Indian Society for Technical
Education, Latin American and Caribbean
Consortium of Engineering Institutions,
Asociación Nacional de Facultades y Escuelas de
Ingeniería (National Association of Engineering
Colleges and Schools in Mexico), Internationale
Gesellschaft für Ingenieurpädagogik
(International Society for Engineering
Education), International Federation of
Engineering Education Societies
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Forums for dissemination
SEFI 2009
GCEE 2009
FIE 2009
ASEE 2009
GCEE 2010
AAEE 2009
REES 2009
New! (Started 2007)

• Conferences with engineering education research
  presentations
• ASEE Annual Conference, American Society for
  Engineering Education, see www.asee.org
• AAEE Annual Conference, Australasian
  Association for Engineering Education, see
  www.aaee.com.au
• FIE Frontiers in Education, sponsored by
  ERM/ASEE, IEEE Education Society and Computer
  Society, /fie-conference.org/erm
• GCEE Global Colloquium on Engineering
  Education, sponsored by ASEE and local partners
  where the meeting is held, see www.asee.org
• SEFI Annual Conference, Société Européenne pour
  la Formation des Ingénieurs , see www.sefi.be
• REES Research on Engineering Education
  Symposium, rees2009.pbwiki.com/

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Resources

• Adams, R., L. Fleming, and K. Smith. 2007.
  Becoming an engineering education researcher
  Three researchers stories and their
  intersections, extensions, and lessons.
  Proceedings, International Conference on Research
  in Engineering Education http//www.ce.umn.edu/s
  mith/docs/Adams-Fleming-Smith-Becoming_an_engineer
  ing_education_researcher-ICREE2007.pdf
• Annals of Research on Engineering Education
  http//www.areeonline.org
• Borrego, M., R.A. Streveler, R.L. Miller, and
  K.A. Smith. 2008. A new paradigm for a new field
  Communicating representations of engineering
  education research. Journal of Engineering
  Education 97 (2) 147-162 http//www.asee.org/con
  ferences/international/2008/upload/A-New-Paradigm-
  for-a-New-Field.pdf
• Booth, W.C., G.G. Colomb, and J.M. Williams.
  2008. The craft of research. 3rd ed. Chicago, Il
  The University of Chicago Press.
• Boyer, Ernest L. 1990. Scholarship reconsidered
  Priorities for the professoriate. Princeton, NJ
  The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
  Teaching.
• Center for the Advancement of Scholarship on
  Engineering Education http//www.nae.edu/nae/case
  ecomnew.nsf
• Diamond, R., The Mission-Driven Faculty Reward
  System, in R.M. Diamond, Ed., Field Guide to
  Academic Leadership, San Francisco Jossey-Bass,
  2002
• Diamond R. Adam, B. 1993. Recognizing faculty
  work Reward systems for the year 2000. San
  Francisco, CA Jossey-Bass.
• Journal of Engineering Education
  http//www.asee.org/publications/jee/index.cfm
• Hutchings, P., and Shulman, L.S. 1999. The
  scholarship of teaching New elaborations, new
  developments. Change, 31 (5), 10-15
• National Research Council. 2002. Scientific
  research in education. R.J. Shavelson and L.
  Towne, eds. Washington, DC The National
  Academies Press http//www.nap.edu/openbook.php?r
  ecord_id10236pageR1
• Shulman, Lee S. 1999. Taking learning seriously.
  Change, 31 (4), 11-17.
• Smith, K.A. 2006. Continuing to build engineering
  education research capabilities. IEEE
  Transactions on Education 49 (1) 1-3
  http//www.asee.org/conferences/international/2008
  /upload/Continuing-to-Build-Eng-Education-Research
  -Capabilities.pdf
• Streveler, R.A., and K.A. Smith. 2006. Conducting
  rigorous research in engineering education.
  Journal of Engineering Education 95 (2) 103-105
  http//www.asee.org/conferences/international/2008
  /upload/Conducting-Rigorous-Research-in-Eng-Educat
  ion.pdf
• Wankat, P.C., Felder, R.M., Smith, K.A. and
  Oreovicz, F. 2001. The scholarship of teaching
  and learning in engineering. In Huber, M.T
  Morreale, S. (Eds.), Disciplinary styles in the
  scholarship of teaching and learning A
  conversation. San Francisco Jossey-Bass.

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• Contact Information
• Karl A. Smith, Ph.D.
• Cooperative Learning Professor of Engineering
  EducationDepartment of Engineering
  EducationPurdue University (Part Time)Neil
  Armstrong Hall, Rm 1313 701 West Stadium Avenue
  Purdue University West Lafayette, IN 
  47907-2045https//engineering.purdue.edu/ENE/Mo
  rse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching
  ProfessorProfessor of Civil EngineeringCivil
  Engineering (Phased Retirement)University of
  Minnesota236 Civil Engineering500 Pillsbury
  Drive SEMinneapolis, MN  55455http//www.ce.umn.
  edu/people/faculty/smith/ E-mail
  ksmith_at_umn.eduSkype kasmithtc
• Editor-in-Chief, Annals of Research on
  Engineering Education (AREE)http//www.areeonline
  .org