Carrie Ann’s Reading Log 1/24

Posted by on January 24, 2010 
Filed under Reading logs

As I began reading the assigned texts and articles for the class I was surprised at how many definitions there were of what the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning truly is.  It was consistent in that each author or scholar agreed that the definition is divided into three parts, but they were named slightly different as seen in the McKinney text.  Noted in the McKinney text, in 1991, Rice listed the three parts as synoptic capacity, pedagogical content knowledge, and what we know about learning. Then in 1999 another group of scholars stated that the three areas are 1) engagement with the existing knowledge of teaching and learning, 2) self-reflection, and 3) public sharing.  Yet in the Shulman Course Anatomy article the three parts are listed as 1) Public, 2) Susceptible to critical review and evaluation, and 3) accessible for change and use.  The one idea that struck a chord with me with the three parts of SoTL is that Shulman makes a statement in that these parts are generally absent with respect to teaching, in that teaching tends to be a “private act” (between student and teacher). I do tend to disagree with this statement. Teaching is public in that your classroom in higher education can be open to the general population should you choose to do so. You are susceptible to critical review by your peers and even your students and your teaching is accessible for change if you self evaluate and grow as an educator. Teaching is accessible for use and this is due to technology, you can podcast or webcast and this is available for anyone to use.  So, I do not entirely agree with Shulman’s statement and I know some might not agree with me either.

Another idea that struck a chord with me as I read also came from the Shulman article, in that part of the anatomy of your course is investigation.  I agree with Shulman in that every time you design or redesign your course you are engaged in an experiment. This is true, I tend to try new things with my students every semester and it is trial and error to see if the assignment works and resonates with the students.  By this process you can learn from your successes and failures and that helps you grow as an educator.

Though there are many ways to explain the foundation of SoTL as seen from this weeks reading, I look forward to adding my own definition and characteristics and we have only just begun to scratch the surface of this topic.

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