Journal Article

The Current Landscape of Faculty Developers in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Across Diverse Campuses in the United States

Ko, Melissa E

2023

Overview

Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTLs) are uniquely poised to support instructors engaging in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) through professional expertise in evidence-based teaching practice and dedicated staff resources. Models for this support have ranged from purely a funding source, to learning communities, to one-off technical training and consultations, to comprehensive mentoring and partnerships. In the decade since Schwartz and Haynie published “Faculty Development Centers and the Role of SoTL,” we aimed to profile the current landscape of university CTLs and their involvement in SoTL. In this review, we draw on the multiple models of CTL participation in SoTL developed by Lukes et al. to categorize the work conducted at a sample of American institutions. Using a data mining approach of publicly available information online, we compiled a sample dataset that shows the distribution of CTLs across the US engaging in various forms of SoTL. We examine current trends of CTL and SoTL presence amongst institution types and geographic regions, with consideration for different SoTL program models. We conclude with a discussion of the current landscape of CTLs and their SoTL involvement compared to our aspirations: what will the future of faculty development look like, and what role will SoTL play? Given the pros and cons of each different model for CTL and SoTL integration, is the current distribution of these models as effective as it could be? What changes could lead to greater impact both for CTLs and for SoTL?

• Publisher: Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Educational Development / Educational Practices / Evidence Based Practice / Faculty Development / Information retrieval / Learning / Teaching / Teaching methods / Technical Education