Our scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) program serves faculty who want to incorporate investigations of discipline-specific pedagogy into their scholarly agenda. Most Gustavus faculty already pursue scholarship of teaching and learning projects in the sense that they identify a particular problem in a course, explore various solutions, implement a solution, and observe the consequences. A SOTL project takes this process further by requiring a well-documented process that is shared with others. The college's SOTL initiative brings faculty together in regular discussion to explore common readings, discuss strategies for developing SOTL projects, and provide each other feedback as projects progress.
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Faculty Associate for 2009-2010 is Julie Gilbert. More information can be found at the Carnegie Foundation's CASTL Program site or by looking at this list of Gustavus participants and their projects.
Purpose: for people to share ideas and present their ongoing research.
Friday, Novembver 20, 2009 from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m. in the St. Peter Room (buffet)
Friday, December 11, 2009 from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m. in the St. Peter Room (buffet)
2008-09 Workshop
2007-08 Workshop
SoTL at Gustavus: Investigating Possibilities
According to the Faculty Development website:“A scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) program serves faculty who want to incorporate investigations of discipline-specific pedagogy into their scholarly agenda. Most Gustavus faculty already pursue scholarship of teaching and learning projects in the sense that they identify a particular problem in a course, explore various solutions, implement a solution, and observe the consequences. A SoTL project takes this process further by requiring a well-documented process that is shared with others. Funded by the Bush Foundation, the college's SoTL initiative brings faculty together in regular discussion to explore common readings, discuss strategies for developing SoTL projects, and provide each other feedback as projects progress. "
This year, there are several active SoTL groups at Gustavus. One group is focusing on reading and discussing SoTL and discipline-specific material and developing SoTL projects. Participants in a second group are developing methodologies, implementing SoTL projects and completing data analyses. Individuals in the third group are preparing for project presentation (whether that involves oral presentation, the creation of a new syllabus, or an article in a scholarly journal).
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at Gustavus Adolphus College: SoTL projects and participants projects conducted between 2004-2008
Michele Rusinko |
Theater and Dance |
Revising Studies in Dance History course to include more critical thinking, integration, and synthesis; recreated course by considering historical periods through the lenses of race, class, and gender; currently devising assessment strategy. |
Matt Panciera |
Classics |
Investigates active learning techniques in order to alter the dynamic in Roman History course; seeking to engage students more fully and actively. |
Greg Mason |
English |
Revised World Literature I course syllabus by including texts in pairs or groups that compare/ contrast the treatment of similar topics in diverse cultural settings, and then teaching those materials in a more “richly contextualized” manner (including art, architecture). |
Denis Crnkovic |
Modern Languages and Cultures |
Studies the effectiveness of introducing “real texts” (texts that are unaltered from the original) of various types to students in the third and fourth semesters of language study. |
Leila Brammer |
Communication Studies |
Studied the possibilities of service-learning in Persuasion and Applied Communication Research courses; designed new courses to integrate service learning and developed assessment tools. |
David Rudek |
Psychology |
Uses a repertory grid procedure to compare and contrast major theorists on various themes surrounding the study of human development; seeks to offer students in a developmental psychology course a single, digestible theoretical framework. The procedure will be tested informally fall semester. |
June Kloubec |
Health and Exercise Science |
Working on a project in the nutrition class that considers pedagogical strategies for teaching students about vitamins and minerals; currently testing two different strategies and assessing student learning via a pilot study. |
Casey Elledge |
Religion |
“Getting to Know Students as Readers: Promoting ‘Close Reading’ Methods in a Biblical Studies Course”. This project focuses on two related tasks designed to help improve the quality of students’ critical reading skills in a Bible survey course: 1) gathering data on student reading skills; 2) using this data to promote three basic, yet valuable reading methods. |
Carolyn O’Grady |
Education |
Exploring the role of teacher expectations in student performance. |
Mary Gaebler |
Religion |
Working to engage students more deeply at the outset of the Business Ethics course; uses role-playing to encourage a better understanding of the human cost when ethically dubious business choices are made. Students will be asked to assume the identities (and to justify the choices) of real persons presently caught up in the Merck/Vioxx case. |
Rebecca T. Fremo |
English |
Working on a book project titled Toward a Rhetoric of Reading that considers the ways that teachers read student-authored texts. Interviewed several groups of former students in order to study their expectations of her as a reader. |
Greg Kaster |
History |
Working with think-aloud methods in the gateway course, Thinking Historically, in order to study the ways that students come to read and understand historical documents; this project involves a longitudinal study. |
Pam Kittelson |
Biology |
Seeking to improve the conceptual understanding of students in sophomore level biology courses, where many students are transitioning from rote memorization to critical thinking and independent analysis. |
Patricia English and Mariangela Maguire |
Communication Studies |
Collaborating on "Interpersonal Communication as Practical Reasoning". The project emerged from the central question, "Do students leave Interpersonal Communication with the sense that they have the tools (in the form of course concepts and theories) to exert greater influence on their interpersonal relationships?" The project incorporates practical reasoning exercises to accompany course readings; Maguire and English also analyzed student writing. The project helped students to understand that technical terms could enhance their relationships rather than take the magic out of them. |
Priscilla Briggs |
Art |
Exploring the ways in which students define and develop “conceptual thinking”; the project involves analyzing students’ journal responses from Video Art course. |
Margaret Bloch-Qazi |
Biology |
Using writing assignments to help students in an intermediate-level Zoology course think critically and use discipline-specific vocabulary appropriately. |
Laura Behling |
English |
Examining the biases students bring to the practice and pleasure of reading; plans a series of monthly discussions between English department faculty and student majors centered around the question, “Why read?” |
John Clementson |
Education |
Developing a SOTL project that seeks to compare the vulnerabilities of teachers and students to those of health-care professionals; this project is linked to a larger collaborative project undertaken by four colleges, all seeking to understand health-care professionals from the region for discussions around "ministry in daily life." |
Brenda Kelly |
Chemistry/Biology |
Development of inquiry-based biochemistry laboratory curriculum using modern equipment and fundamental techniques. The labs develop quantitative skills and allow students to communicate experimental results in oral and written formats. |
Leila Brammer & Sarah Wolter |
Communication Studies |
Public Discourse as impetus for civic engagement: The introductory communication course as transformative dialogue |
Barbara Fister |
Library |
Using Student Writing Samples to Assess Information Literacy Practices |
Scott Bur |
Chemistry |
Lecture versus group problem solving |
Colleen Jacks |
Biology |
Interfering RNAs to Medicago truncatula genes: An undergraduate laboratory in gene cloning and analysis |
María Isabel Kalbermatten |
Spanish |
Becoming an Independent and Effective Writer in Spanish: The Writing Process in Spanish Courses |
Julie Gilbert |
Library |
Library Instruction, Information Literacy, and First Year Students |
Mary R. McHugh |
Classics |
1) Assessing the Role of Prompt Feedback in Second-semester Beginning Greek 2) Implementing Higher-order Assignments in Greek Art & Archaeology Lecture Class |
Brandy Russell |
Chemistry |
Fostering Independence in Advanced Laboratory Classes
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