Melanie J Hamilton, Andy M Benoit
A growing number of faculty at colleges in Canada are developing their scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) skills. However, little is known about the college faculty experience (Simmons & Poole, 2016) of conceptualizing and developing a research proposal and the needed supports. According to Bazeley (2003), there is no single path to developing an academic research career, and most academics have different discipline paths to research experience. There are many interpretations in the literature about early career researchers (ECR); however, the European Research Commission uses the term Early-Stage researcher and defines it as “researchers in the first four years (full-time equivalent) of their research activity, including the period of research training.” (De Montfort University, 2018).
Over the period of one semester, we partnered with mid-career faculty; early-career researchers and researched their journey to developing a SoTL Project. Throughout the four months, we assisted faculty to develop a SoTL research project using the SoTL Guide Book: “Engaging in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: A guide to the process, and how to develop a project from start to finish” (Bishop-Clark & Dietz-Uhler, 2012). At the beginning of the study, participants were asked to conceptualize an idea for a SoTL project that was of interest to them. Over the semester, the participants were expected to complete the worksheets within the book, and at the same time using an LMS system for peer-support and feedback.
For this study, we used case-study methodology and convenience sampling, and we used three methods to triangulate our data. The dataset included interview and focus group data, a participant research diary and project documentation.
This poster session offers a summary of the research findings on what institutional supports are needed to assist mid-career faculty, ECR with developing a SoTL research focus.
The poster audience will be encouraged to engage in dialogue on what services and supports are offered at their home institutions and what barriers ECR face as the engage in the SoTL process and which has various supports that maximize their success. Mighty (2013) emphasizes that fostering SoTL is more achievable in scholarly communities when faculty share ideas about ideas, methodologies, and experiences.
