Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education

 

Date of this Version

2009

Document Type

Article

Citation

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development (2009) 27

doi: 10.3998/tia.17063888.0027.017

Comments

License: CC BY-NC-ND

Abstract

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a powerful vehicle for professional development. Faculty make their teaching public as they investigate phenomena in their classes. This process encourages sustained discussions of teaching. In conducting SoTL, community college faculty face substantial hurdles: heavy workloads, few institutional supports, no employment rewards, perceived irrelevance, and weak peer networks. Can these challenges be overcome within existing institutional structures? This chapter explores this question by examining how SoTL is pursued in two learning communities. Evidence from these institutional case studies suggests that SoTL programs are viable in community colleges, despite major challenges.

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