I am very excited to share this piece of research. This was put together by a great group of folks who worked together in the Society of Teaching in Learning in Higher Education's (STLHE) collaborative writing groups. A special issue of the Canadian Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning will come out soon and contain all of the collaborative writing group articles. I am very thankful for the opportunity to participate in this group, and I hope that some of the recommendations to recognize the legitimacy of SoTL with Canadian provincial quality assurance frameworks will come to pas as quality assurance in higher education continues to evolve.
This paper argues a divide exists between quality assurance (QA) processes and quality enhancement, and that the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) can bridge this divide through an evidence-based approach to improving teaching practice. QA processes can trigger the examination of teaching and learning issues, providing faculty with an opportunity to systematically study their impact on student learning. This form of scholarship positions them to take a critical and empowered role in the continuous improvement of student learning experiences and to become full participants in the goal of QA structures. A document analysis of current provincial QA policies in Canada reveals a gap between how teaching and learning challenges are identified and how those challenges are studied and acted upon. A QA report is not the end result of an assurance process. It is the beginning of a change process that is intended to lead to improvements in the student learning experience. The authors consider how SoTL provides a research-minded approach to initiate continuous improvements within a QA framework, and provides considerations for how it might be integrated into evolving provincial frameworks.
Openo, J., Laverty, C., Klodiana, K., Borin, P., Goff, L., Stranach, M., and Gomaa, N. (in press). Bridging the divide: Leveraging the scholarship of teaching and learning for quality enhancement. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.