SoTL: A Definition

In 1999, Lee S. Shulman described an endeavor he termed the scholarship of teaching.  The characteristics he articulated are now being widely used to define what has come to be called the scholarship of teaching and learning, or SoTL.

For an activity to be designated as scholarship, it should manifest at least 3 key characteristics.  It should be:

• Public
• Susceptible to critical review and evaluation
• Accessible for exchange and use by other members of one’s scholarly community.

Teaching, like other forms of scholarship, is an extended process that unfolds over time.  It embodies at least the following 5 elements:

• Vision

• Design

• Interactions

• Outcomes

• Analysis

“In sum, a scholarship of teaching will entail a public account of some or all of the full act of teaching—vision, design, enactment, outcomes, and analysis—in a manner susceptible to critical review by the teacher’s professional peers, and amenable to productive employment in future work by members of that same community”  (p. 6).

Source: Shulman, L. S. (1999). Course anatomy: The dissection and analysis of knowledge through teaching. In P. Hutchings (Ed.), The course portfolio: How faculty can examine their teaching to advance practice and improve student learning. Washington, DC: AAHE.

SoTL Background & Resources

This briefly highlights some significant documents and ideas that emerged in 1990, 1997, 1998, and 1999 to set the stage for current discussions of the scholarship of teaching and learning. It also provides some helpful SoTL resources.