Getting Started in SoTL Series

This four-session series offers an engaging introduction to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and serves as a gateway into our faculty learning community. Meeting bi-weekly through the fall, participants will explore key readings and join guided discussions that build a shared understanding of SoTL—its core concepts, methods, sources of evidence, and the unique ethical considerations that shape this field of scholarly inquiry.

• What is Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and how does it connect to Disciplinary Educational Research and Educational
• Research more broadly? (Nov 6, 2025. 10-11am)
• What research questions and methodologies are utilized? (Dec 5, 2025. 1-2pm)
• What is the range of possibilities for sources of data? (Jan 8, 2026. 2-3pm)
• What are the particular ethical dimensions of SoTL to consider? (Feb 4, 2026. 1-2pm)
• How can we work in partnership with students in SoTL? (March 4, 2026. 10-11 am)
• What networks exist to support the development of SoTL scholars? (April 10, 2026. 12-1pm)

We invite participants and alumni of the Mokakiiks SoTL Development Program to join our SoTL Community of Practice—a collegial network designed to sustain learning, collaboration, and mentorship beyond the program itself. A community of practice model is powerful because it brings together individuals who share a commitment to advancing the scholarship of teaching and learning, creating a space for ongoing dialogue, peer support, and the exchange of ideas. By connecting with colleagues who are actively engaged in SoTL research and practice, members can deepen their expertise, share resources, and collectively cultivate innovative approaches to enhancing student learning. For more information, please contact Cherie Woolmer at cwoolmer@mtroyal.ca.

Throughout the year, the Mokakiiks Centre for SoTL hosts on-campus book and journal studies that invite both SoTL-curious and SoTL-confident faculty and students to engage in shared exploration of key works in the field. These informal yet scholarly gatherings create space to read and discuss influential SoTL publications, exchange perspectives, and consider how emerging research can inform and enrich teaching and learning practice and inform future SoTL studies on campus. Details about upcoming book studies and journal clubs are shared throughout the academic year, offering opportunities for faculty and students to connect, reflect, and deepen their engagement with SoTL scholarship.

Programming

Yeo, Miller-Young, & Manarin. (2023). SoTL Research Methodologies: A guide to conceptualizing and conducting the scholarship of teaching and learning. Routledge.

Experienced faculty who enter the field of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) often encounter research approaches that feel new or unfamiliar compared to their home discipline. Making a choice to use new methodologies in your SoTL work can be exciting but also daunting. SoTL Research Methodologies: A guide to conceptualizing and conducting the scholarship of teaching and learning (2023) provides a comprehensive framework for constructing SoTL studies, analyzing data, and sharing research outcomes. Participants will have the opportunity to bring questions and share approaches used in their own SoTL work. Those new and experienced in SoTL are welcome to join.

Register here (Online or in person participation)
Facilitator: Cherie Woolmer
Dates: 12-1pm, Oct 2, 23, November 13, December 4, 18, 2025.

Brave Conversations in SoTL is a collaborative speakers’ series that brings together an international slate of scholars to discuss ideas around critical approaches to themes of epistemic justice, students as knowers, and threshold experiences in higher education. The series is in collaboration with the University of Calgary's Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning.