School of Social & Environmental Sustainability

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the School of Social and Environmental Sustainability

Michael Muir and Michele Vincent

The importance of promoting a welcoming, constructive and effective learning environment for students in higher education has gained wide recognition in recent years, and educators are constantly developing and implementing innovative and engaging ways to support student learning. As well as staying up to date with research, news and developments in their own field of expertise, university educators look to maintain and enhance the quality of their teaching by trying out new approaches, reviewing the outcomes of their teaching, and learning from the experiences of others. This is when engagement with the principles of “Scholarship of Teaching and Learning” (SoTL) can provide a way for educators to access and share ideas, knowledge, research, and experience related to best-practice in teaching.

Which teaching methods have other educators found most effective within my field? How can we promote student engagement with complex subjects? How can we ensure teaching is inclusive for all? How do students react to the new teaching materials introduced on my course? How can we support and encourage each other to deliver high quality teaching…?

These are some examples of the types of question which can start to be addressed through engagement with SoTL.

Although there is no agreed upon single definition of SoTL, it is acknowledged to encompass a range of activities undertaken during the development and delivery of teaching such as systematically gathering feedback from students, reflecting on the outcomes of teaching activities, applying research tools to interrogate teaching methods or outcomes, and sharing and disseminating findings to take a leading role in enhancing teaching quality on campus and beyond. A key focus of SoTL is for educators to take a proactive role in maintaining a high standard of teaching for themselves, and for their peers and colleagues, through enquiry, reflective practice, and sharing of experience.

Within the University of Glasgow, we are lucky to have the “SoTL Network,” which comprises academics from across the university who actively participate in, support and encourage SoTL activities. The SoTL Network provides advice and support on SoTL related topics including how to undertake SoTL, types of SoTL, and different dissemination options for sharing SoTL with the wider teaching community.

In the School of Social and Environmental Sustainability, our own SoTL group meets regularly to discuss, learn, and share information related to SoTL, fostering interdisciplinary insight and collaboration. Recent discussion topics for the group have included best practice in assessment and feedback and the use of technology in teaching, as well as guest presentations from experts within the University on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology by students and staff, and building student employability skills into the curriculum.

Our SSES SoTL group aims to support SoTL activities within our school, to encourage a reflective approach to the design and delivery of teaching, and to provide a forum for colleagues to share and discuss their teaching and SoTL experiences. The group has developed into a welcoming and supportive community in which topics relevant to SoTL are discussed and shared in an open, friendly and constructive environment. This is achieved through our regular meetings focussing on a topic relevant to SoTL, our regular school SoTL conferences, and our online presence within the school through our MS Teams group and posts on the SSES website.

The SoTL group plays an important role in helping to support colleagues to effectively implement the University of Glasgow’s learning and teaching strategy, keep up to date with the latest developments within learning and teaching in the University, and develop effective learning and teaching strategy within the school. Continued engagement with SoTL through the open and collaborative approach of our group not only benefits student learning and staff development on our own campus, but also in the wider Higher Education learning and teaching community. 

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First published: 26 November 2024