Program Requirements

The SoTL Scholars Program is made up of six required components:

1) Foundations of SoTL: Participants are required to complete the annual CLT’s SoTL Series sessions: The Principles of SoTL, The SoTL Process, and Engaging in Ethical SoTL. The combination of these three workshops will provide participants with a foundational understanding and the tools needed to conceptualize their SoTL project. It is recommended that participants complete this component prior to beginning their SoTL project. (Estimated time: 4.5 hours).

2) Professional Development: In addition to the Foundations of SoTL, participants are required to attend at least three other CLT’s SoTL Series workshops of their choice. It is encouraged that participants choose offerings that will help support the process of collecting, analyzing and sharing their SoTL project. (Estimated time: 4.5 hours).

3) Conceptualizing and Supporting your Project Through One-on-One Consultations: Participants are required to meet with the Program Administrator (clt@dal.ca) at least two times during the completion of their Program. It is strongly recommended that at least one of these meetings involve the review and feedback of an ethics application (if applicable). The goal of these consults is to provide participants with one-on-one support during the SoTL process and offer them the opportunity to discuss and reflect on the conceptualization of their project and the process of collecting, analyzing, and sharing SoTL data.

Consults may include (but are not limited to):

• Formulating or exploring a SoTL topic
• Suggestions on teaching and learning theories, frameworks and literature
• Designing a SoTL project
• Research Ethics Applications (It is recommended that prior to submitting an ethics application, participants meet with an ED to review and provide feedback on the application)
• Data collection and analysis
• Opportunities for funding or dissemination
• Support in writing for publication

(Estimated time: 2 hours).

4) Engaging with Peers: Participants are expected to: (a) attend at least four SoTL Brownbag Lunches, and (b) lead one SoTL Brownbag lunch. (Estimated time: 5 hours).

5) Documenting the Process: Participants will be required to reflect and document their experience with the SoTL process at two different times. 1) Within their first year, participants are required to submit a SoTL Project Proposal Form to the Program Administrator that outlines their SoTL project. 2) Once participants have completed all components of the SoTL Scholars Program, they will submit a SoTL Project Summary and Reflection where they will provide an overview of their project and findings and reflect on the SoTL process and its impact on their practice. (Estimated time: 3 hours).

6) Sharing SoTL: Participants are required to engage in some form of knowledge dissemination on their SoTL project. Below are a few options that participants might pursue:

• Submit to a session or workshop proposal at a teaching and learning or disciplinary conference of their choosing or at the annual Dalhousie Conference on University Teaching and Learning (DCUTL);
• Facilitate a workshop on their project through the Centre for Learning and Teaching, their department or Faculty;
• Submit a manuscript of their SoTL project to a journal of their choosing; or
• Write a post for the Centre for Learning and Teaching’s FOCUS blog.