SoTL at Leeds

What is SoTL?

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at the University of Leeds is aligned with the University’s ambitions to deliver an outstanding, evidence-based education underpinned by sector-leading pedagogies and research-led and research-informed teaching. The activities that fall under the broad umbrella of scholarship are fundamental to achieving our objectives and are broad in scope. The following summary of activities is indicative rather than an exhaustive list.

Activities of SoTL

Scholarship as disciplinary expertise - maintaining deep subject knowledge and contributing as a member of a disciplinary community

Activities include:

• Keeping abreast of the latest research in a discipline, e.g., actively utilising relevant and up-to-date literature, e.g.  books, journal articles, relevant trade books/publications in the design of content
• Engaging with, or drawing upon, members of a research group within or beyond your school
• Attending conferences, research events, or workshops
• Involvement in learned societies or other disciplinary groups

Scholarship as research - knowledge generation (research) that may be disciplinary or pedagogic in focus.

Activities include:

• Undertaking research to investigate, inform, develop, and support teaching and learning activities
• Obtaining the resources to support pedagogic, or discipline-focused pedagogic, research activity
• Publishing academic, peer-reviewed work and disseminating findings at relevant research conferences
• Working with collaborators and partners to enhance the impact of research
• It is assumed that all research-active academic staff are engaged with scholarship as research, although focusing particularly on disciplinary expertise.  Academic staff on the Teaching & Scholarship pathway are likely to engage with this kind of scholarship to varying extent and to different degrees depending on career stage, nature of the education-focused role, and interest

Scholarship as pedagogic expertise - those activities undertaken by staff to expand their pedagogic expertise.

Activities include:

• Keeping abreast of discipline specific pedagogic innovations
• Developing and sharing teaching techniques, approaches, and/or materials beyond their department
• Producing published textbooks or discipline-relevant learning material;
• Successfully applying for professional recognition of teaching e.g., AdvanceHE Fellowships through PRiSE
• Actively mentoring colleagues to promotion or other success
• Productive engagement with relevant interest/expert groups, e.g., LITE
• Appointment as an external examiner
• Professional leadership in learning and teaching including contributions to policy development

AdvanceHE - defining and supporting scholarship teaching and learning