The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL): Developing A Community of Practice

• Main Authors: Mohd Yusoff, Nurahimah, Raja Hussain, Raja Maznah, Yaacob, Aizan, Abdul Karim, Abdul Malek
• Format: Monograph
• Language: English
• Published: UUM 2021
• Subjects: L Education (General)
• Online Access: https://repo.uum.edu.my/id/eprint/29636/1/13014.pdf; https://repo.uum.edu.my/id/eprint/29636/

The adoption of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) training among academics from Malaysian higher education institutions fronts a resolute initiative towards positive transformation on training in education. This report documents the journey embarked upon by seven master trainers as part of a study under the Leadership Development Training Programme on SoTL Basic Module. About 172 faculty members attended this series of training programmes initiated by the Higher Education Leadership Academy (AKEPT), Ministry of Education Malaysia in 2013-2015. The study employs both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods incorporating multidimensional sources including narratives, event descriptions, observations, reflections, post-training evaluations and feedbacks. The ensuing concept-driven empirical data analysis was anchored on the ideas of Boyer (1990) and Trigwell (2013). Preliminary findings suggest academics were receptive towards practising SoTL after gaining new insights and better understandings of the subject following each training session. Academics expressed increased awareness of a critical and reflective outlook as university teachers. Many are eager to re-examine their teaching practice and to share their experiences with other faculty members. Nonetheless, their feedback also highlighted major perceived impediments toward the adoption of the SoTL among others, the lack of institutional recognition and support for the SoTL approach and contemporary conservative attitudes toward documenting individual teaching practice. The outcomes from this SoTL leadership initiative support the notion for pioneering academics to establish a SoTL community of practitioners for essential peer review and support. The early conclusion endorses a timely recommendation for higher education institutions to relook their current institutional policies and efforts with a view towards advancing recognitions of faculty members, in support of a progressive transformation in teaching and learning via the SoTL.