Evidence and ethics
3.5 Myth: educators should not research their own practice
Student teacher at an Indian teacher-training college
© Leigh-Anne Perryman. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Licence
When evaluating research, one of the things to look out for is potential researcher bias. In some cases, investigators are clearly expecting, or looking for, a certain outcome. This may be revealed by how they describe their study, by the company they work for, or by the organisation that is funding their work. However, this doesn’t mean that research should never be carried out by people who have a strong interest in the outcomes. Scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) is used by educators to investigate their own and related practice.
Scholarship of teaching and learning can be defined as:
systematic and ethically reasoned investigation of aspects of teaching and student learning by applying disciplinary knowledge, resulting in reflections and outcomes that are publicly shared for peer-review and for others to build upon. (OpenLearn, 2023)
SoTL involves educators and those working in educational contexts moving beyond reflection on their educational strategies to an intentional, rigorous and systematic inquiry in which they investigate teaching practices and pedagogical strategies for student learning and engagement.
A SoTL inquiry is theoretically grounded and may employ one of a variety of methodologies. It involves educators reconsidering their pedagogical theories and practices within the context that they are investigating. The 60-Second SoTL podcasts, produced by the Center for Engaged Learning at Elon University, provide many examples of this type of study.
Browse the 60-Second SoTL list of podcasts and select one or two to listen to (they typically run for 1-4 minutes and are accompanied by transcripts).
As you listen, reflect on the following points and share your thoughts in the discussion area, together with the name of the podcast you are commenting on. Reading the comments posted by others will help you to get an overview of multiple studies without the need to listen to all the podcasts.
- How do the presenters demonstrate that their findings are trustworthy?
- Which of the elements you would look out for when evaluating a research report (these elements were listed in the table on step 3.3) do the presenters include?
© The Open University