Biggio Center offers two new Scholarship of Teaching and Learning programs

The Biggio Center is launching two new competitive programs to support faculty in engaging with the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, or SoTL. The SoTL Hackathon, scheduled for July 30, is a one-day workshop that will help faculty “hack” a problem related to teaching or learning in their classes by introducing the methods and motives that drive SoTL research. The SoTL Project Development Institute is a year-long program that will offer selected SoTL Fellows guidance and funding to develop their own SoTL project-from refining the research question to designing the study, collecting and analyzing data and writing up their findings for publication.

SoTL Hackathon

If you could hack any problem related to your teaching to streamline your course and improve your students’ learning, what would it be? A hackathon is a focused design sprint during which participants collaborate to identify problems and design solutions. This day-long, interactive workshop will introduce faculty to the “what, why and how” of SoTL with a special focus on identifying a research question, developing appropriate methods and discovering where and how to access and interpret data related to teaching and learning. Led by an interdisciplinary team of facilitators from Biggio, University Writing, Office of Academic Assessment, Office of Institutional Research, Libraries, OVPR and COSAM’s Discipline-Based Educational Researchers, participants will engage with a range of SoTL case studies and facilitated team-based challenges designed to introduce new and experienced faculty to the field of SoTL and provide a jumping-off point for getting started with your own SoTL research project at Auburn.

All faculty and disciplines are welcome. This event is designed for a range of expertise levels from brand new to SoTL to experienced SoTL researchers.

Click here to apply. 

SoTL Project Development Institute, or SPDI

Faculty familiar with SoTL and ready to engage in a research study are invited to apply to be named a SoTL Fellow in our inaugural SPDI cohort. Fellows will meet regularly throughout the year to develop a study, collect data and write an article for publication in a SoTL journal. In addition to monetary support for their SoTL project, SoTL Fellows will receive additional kinds of support, information and guidance from a range of campus experts and units. Faculty are welcome to apply as individuals or as groups. Although research questions may evolve through the process, the application requires some forethought on the problem you are hoping to solve in your classes or the question you hope to answer about your students’ learning using evidence-based methods.

Individuals or groups of faculty who are at least a little familiar with SoTL, who have identified a research question or focus on developing over the course of the academic year and who will have the opportunity to collect data during the spring semester is the audience. For example, faculty who are scheduled to teach or direct students during the spring semester. SoTL Hackathon participants are encouraged to apply for this program. Group applicants will each need to submit an individual application and will have the option to name collaborators.

Click here to apply.

Biggio Center Faculty Fellow Min Zhong will lead a Faculty Learning Community during the fall 2021 semester that will provide an in-depth introduction to the field of SoTL through a selection of readings and discussion for those curious about SoTL but not yet ready to dive in on their own project. This program will give a foundation for participant's own research and prepare those interested in engaging in the following year’s SPDI program.