Why Should I Care About SOTL? The Professional Responsibilities of Post-Secondary Educators

Abstract

Over the last decade, there has been tremendous growth in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) in post-secondary education. Yet, apart from a few significant exceptions, there has been very little discussion of the role this scholarship is to play in the professional activities of post-secondary educators. This essay defends the claim that as professional educators, all college professors have an ethical obligation to participate in SOTL. This participation entails both active research and scholarly review. On these grounds, SOTL is not an isolated slice of scholarly research; it is a necessary condition of post-secondary education. “The