Editor's Notes

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a growing area in which postsecondary educators from any discipline investigate their teaching and their students’ learning, sharing those results with others. As McKinney (2006, 3) notes, SoTL “involves systematic study of teaching and/or learning and the public sharing and review of such work through presentations, performance, or publications.” This work thus informs scholarly teaching practice, and for some who make it public beyond their classrooms, it also builds pedagogical knowledge in and across the disciplines. In the Canadian context, Poole, Taylor, and Thompson (2007) discussed how using scholarship of teaching and learning at various levels (institutional, disciplinary, and national) could improve postsecondary educational quality, but little work has been done to assess to what extent their recommendations have been implemented. Wutherick and Yu's chapter mapping SoTL activities in Canada makes it is clear that much SoTL is happening across the country, and in many institutions, this work is supported by grants, staff, and collaborative research groups. So far there is little evidence, however, of the impact of SoTL on teaching and learning quality at the institutional level. As Christensen Hughes and Mighty (2010, 4) have noted, “researchers have discovered much about teaching and learning in higher education, but … dissemination and uptake of this information have been limited. As such, the impact of educational research on faculty-teaching practice and the student-learning experience has been negligible.” More recently, Poole and Simmons (2013) have identified the continuing need for assessing SoTL's impact on institutional quality. The purpose of this special issue is to provide examples and evidence of the ways in which postsecondary institutions in Canada have developed and sustained programs around the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning that impact the institutional pedagogical climate. The various chapters outline practices, include evidence of impact, and discuss continuing challenges with this work. Our hope is to thus conceptualize the work of SoTL and provide enough detail so that others may develop effective models of practice. Chapter 1, by Simmons and Poole, provides an overview of the Canadian postsecondary context, including the political structure for higher education (necessary for understanding the particular challenges in securing resources for SoTL both internal to the institution and from external sources), the types of postsecondary institutions, and a brief overview of SoTL history in Canada, including national and provincial organizations. In Chapter 2, Wuetherick and Yu describe findings from a national survey of the professional life of SoTL scholars. Using the micro-meso-macro-mega framework, they examine the SoTL organizational culture in Canada and note how alignment of these levels helps move the SoTL forward. They advocate for leaders to champion the SoTL cause in order to advance SoTL from the micro to the mega levels. Subsequent chapters present case studies from different postsecondary institutions across Canada and are organized in three sections: Program Design and Evaluation, Exploring the Impact of SoTL Initiatives, and Institutionally Networked SoTL. These sections outline the design and impact of SoTL initiatives, including how evidence of institutional impact is being collected, findings to date, and recommendations for future inquiry. In Chapter 3, Amundsen, Emmioglu, Hotton, Hum, and Xin detail the planning of an SoTL program at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia. They describe how analyzing the internal coherence and alignment of the program design and the thinking underpinning the design is the first step in evaluating effectiveness or impact. SoTL is positioned as a socially situated practice, and they note the importance of further investigating the connections amongst the levels. In Chapter 4, Mengel describes how Rennaissance College moved SoTL forward by aligning with the larger institution's promotion and tenure policies that recognize SoTL as equivalent to disciplinary research. Mengel outlines challenges that face many institutions, such as how to keep SoTL momentum in fiscally challenging times. He argues that SoTL will only be sustainable if it is strongly anchored in the strategic plan of the faculties and the vision of their members. Chapter 5, by Marquis and Ahmad, outlines the development of McMaster University's new SoTL institute and how that has positively supported SoTL growth on campus. Their case study presentation also highlights that support for those already moving SoTL forward to join like-minded others can multiply the impact. They also discuss how leaders can support student involvement in SoTL and they emphasize the value of aligning SoTL with institutional priorities. In Chapter 6, Miller-Young, Yeo, Manarin, Carey, and Zimmer outline perceptions of participants in their Nexen Scholars program. They note that high-level institutional support for SoTL has been critical to the institute's success. Their findings revealed a development in SoTL scholars’ perceptions of the impact of their work: Newcomers are more likely to frame the impact in individual terms, whereas more experienced SoTL scholars are more likely to consider the departmental, institutional, and disciplinary impacts. In Chapter 7, Wuetherick, Yu, and Greer outline results of a survey of SoTL at the University of Saskatchewan. Their participants note the challenges of lack of legitimacy (SoTL is not currently tied to promotion and tenure) and time, and these are tied to how SoTL work is seen within academic departments. They also note there are discernible shifts in the culture toward being more amenable to SoTL work. In Chapter 8, Timmermans and Ellis examine the role of the teaching and learning center in supporting SoTL and describe the shift, catalyzed by change in staff at the center, from focusing on traditionally defined SoTL toward scholarly teaching, which they found to be more inclusive of the kind of work being done on campus. They advocate an approach to SoTL that draws on the principles of starting where people are and knowing and adapting to the institutional context. Chapter 9, by Verwoord and Poole (University of British Columbia), focuses on how social networks of individuals can build toward an institutional movement. They provide examples of how these local networks form, how appointed leaders could identify and support them, and also how junior colleagues can benefit from being part of these networks. They advocate for paying attention to multilevel social networks, including how they form and how they can be sustained toward greater institutional SoTL impact. In Chapter 10, Kenny, Watson, and Desmarais discuss the cultural shift that occurred as the University of Guelph placed a higher emphasis on the value of teaching and learning. They highlight the role of senior administration in clearly communicating their vision and the process needed to achieve it and in providing necessary resources for quality enhancement. They emphasize the importance of meso- or department-level supports such as community of practice networks, department-specific funding, and inclusion of graduate students in SoTL work. The volume ends with Chapter 11, in which Simmons discusses what can be learned from the case studies as a group, drawing parallels and exploring distinctions and ultimately mapping recommendations for a synthesized model for creating a national context for SoTL's growth. Nicola Simmons was the founding chair of SoTL Canada and is currently a faculty member in the faculty of education at Brock University in Ontario.

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