JCCC SoTL Scholar Academy 2020-2021
The Scholarship of Teaching of Learning (SoTL) is an emerging movement in higher education in which teachers study their own teaching with the same rigor that they apply to research in their own discipline. Teachers can not only improve their expertise in their fields, but also develop their pedagogical expertise. In addition, participating in SoTL activities improves collaboration across disciplines.
Currently, most SoTL research takes place in four-year institutions. But because teaching is what community college faculty do, and because the needs of community college students are diverse and sometimes challenging, community college teachers are well-positioned to become SoTL leaders within the academy. Several of our faculty members are already conducting SoTL research, and we would like to see this number grow.
The JCCC SoTL Scholar Academy is an opportunity for a cohort of six multi-disciplinary faculty members to receive mentorship and support through the process of designing and implementing a research project on their own teaching.
What is SoTL? The Scholarship of Teaching of Learning (SoTL) involves faculty undertaking systematic inquiry about student learning–informed by prior scholarship on teaching and learning–and going public with the results. See what other colleges and universities are doing in SoTL here.
Timeline
*note: participants in the JCCC SoTL Scholar Academy will receive two $500 stipends.
May 15, 2020—deadline to apply for the JCCC SoTL Scholar Academy
May 28-30, 2020—Attend the virtual conference “Designing Effective Teaching” Conference in Bethesda, MD (THIS IS OPTIONAL)
August 17, 2020 (8:30 am – 4:30 pm)—One-day retreat at JCCC facilitated by Jennifer Friberg, Cross Endowed Chair in SoTL and Professor of Communication Sciences & Disorders at Illinois State University
Fall semester 2020—Study design. Monthly Faculty Learning Community (FLC) meetings in support of continued work designing the study (appx. 1-2 hours)
Spring semester 2021— Data Collection. Monthly Faculty Learning Community (FLC) meetings in support of data collection (appx. 1-2 hours)
Cohort attends SoTL Commons Conference, February 24-26, 2021, Savannah, GA (I attended this year and it was excellent, Also, Savannah in February!)
$500 stipend
Summer 2021—Analyze data & write results
Fall semester 2021 and beyond—Continue to analyze and write results
TBD: Present and/or publish the completed study. (Funding will be provided to present results at a Teaching & Learning conference.)
$500 stipend
If you are interested in participating in the JCCC SoTL Scholar Academy, apply here.
Please contact Farrell Hoy Jenab if you have questions or would like more information.