Research Institute on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Faculty members throughout higher education are being asked to become better researchers of their own practices—whether it be in disciplinary context, teaching, or other areas of (faculty) performance. Since scholarly effort is a component of most faculty members’ tenure, promotion, and merit systems, it is important that individuals receive credit for additional research that is not published in discipline journals.

In response to these increasing research demands, this institute focuses on helping faculty members further develop their scholarly efforts, as it pertains to their role as an educator. Participants will gain a greater sense of confidence and professionalism with respect to researching about the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Theme Areas

This event will explore the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning as it applies to the design of a National Research Center. Research centers, also called "Centers of Excellence" are being created around the country to help universities and colleges advance research in a specific focus area. These centers are multi-purpose, and provide undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty with research opportunities, outreach to the extended community, and integrate real-life practice back into the classroom. As a result, these centers become valuable to universities and colleges for advancing the quality of learning, teaching, service, scholarship, and research.

This event will use a potential future center for urban education research. The community of participants will produce a full design for this center. Items to be included in this design are:

  • Naming a Center

  • Producing a Vision Statement

  • Developing its Mission

  • Identifying internal and external stakeholders

  • Identifying the top five strategic efforts

  • Identifying the top five projects

  • Building the Leadership team

  • Building a 5-year start-up financial plan

  • Identifying potential supporting foundations, government, or businesses

  • Recruiting Associated Researchers

  • Designing a program assessment system

  • Identifying 10 courses that align with the mission (teaching and learning)

  • Identify 5 external programs that align with the mission (service)

  • Identify 5 academic programs that align with the mission (student research)

The other topics associated with advancing research practice in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning will also be integrated into this design effort.

Overview

This event provides an excellent opportunity to network with faculty committed to their professional performance, especially as it pertains to teaching and learning in the classroom.

Between 20 and 40 faculty members from various institutions across the country are expected to attend. Those attending will bring years of experience and expertise with advancing the practices of teaching and learning. Specific areas of interest and expertise include: mentoring, student-centered learning, student success (increasing performance of the "at-risk" students), instructional design, effective use of technology, assessment, and evaluation.

As a result, there will be many opportunities for participants to collaborate in grant writing, the writing of papers, and sponsoring collaborative research.

Sample Agenda

Participants will engage in a series of activities and explore various topics throughout the institute. Some of the activities and topics that may be explored include:

  • how to conduct a research design around learning outcomes and specific to environments in which one is involved;

  • how to effectively make use of appropriate tools for data collection;

  • how to properly identify the appropriate audience related to the research being performed;

  • how to perform peer review of scholarship;

  • exploring the process of classroom research;

  • determining the criteria for high quality qualitative research;

  • developing ideas for a research program in teaching and learning;

  • developing collaborative relationships;

  • effectively integrating peer review into the rewriting of proposals and papers;

  • complementing disciplinary research with scholarship on teaching and learning;

  • building credibility with respect to one’s own scholarship.

Scheduled Events

If you're interested in scheduling a Research Institute at your college, please contact us at inquiries@pcrest.com.