by Kathleen McKinney, Professor of Sociology and Cross Endowed Chair in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Emeritus, Illinois State University
This post is part of a series of posts on this blog about the status of SoTL in various disciplines. My focus is on the discipline of sociology and, primarily, in the United States. I briefly summarize a sampling of what we know about the background of as well as recent disciplinary support for, involvement in, and characteristics of SoTL in sociology. I leave it to others to post additional information on the status of SoTL in sociology in the U.S. and especially in other nations.
Over the past few months, the Board has approved several changes to the Society’s Bylaws. These changes are intended to fix oversights (e.g., the absence of the Students and SoTL Committee from the bylaws) and to clarify and update processes and descriptions (e.g., a change to our membership year and resident agent).
ISSOTL’s goal is to “foster inquiry and disseminate findings about what improves and articulates post-secondary learning and teaching.” To support this goal, ISSOTL recognizes the importance of engaging emerging scholars who are interested in the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Each year, the ISSOTL Board organizes a public call for nominations for the Distinguished Service Award. This award is designed to recognize ISSOTL members who have served both ISSOTL and the broader field of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in distinguished ways for a significant period of time.
The formal criteria for the award include:
• Having a widely acknowledged reputation in the field of SoTL
As your Student Representatives to the ISSOTL Executive Board, we are writing to invite you to submit your work, if you have not done so already, for consideration for the ISSOTL Awards for Best Student Presentation and Poster.
The Students & SoTL Committee is soliciting help from ISSOTL members who will be attending ISSOTL17 and are interested in judging one or more student poster and/or panel presentation(s). If you are willing to support ISSOTL’s Student Awards as a judge, please email your name, the name of your university, your academic discipline, and the conference days/session times for which you are unavailable, to
Design a logo for the International Society for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning to be used on the society website, promotional materials, during the annual conferences, and on the Society’s social media accounts (currently Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn). The deadline for submission is September 30, 2017.
The winner will receive a one-year ISSOTL membership (courtesy of the Board) and a $50 Amazon gift card (courtesy of an ISSOTL member).
ISSOTL seeks a person to be responsible for expansion, update, maintenance, and promotion of the Society's website. ISSOTL.com operates on Drupal and serves as an access point for a wide range of information about the Society, its resources, its activities, and its communication portals (a journal, conferences, and interactive and social media).
The Slow Movement—originating in Slow Food—challenges the frantic pace, efficiencies, and standardization of contemporary culture. Inspired by this careful attention to a daily task, we think the time is ripe for a Slow SoTL movement.
