Professor Emeritus Milt Cox from Miami University of Ohio presented a recorded Lilly Conference session about the commonalities and differences of three scholarships: Teaching and Learning, Academic Development, and Learning Communities. Cox has done extensive scholarly research and is editor of a Scholarship of Learning Communities journal. Cox compared the processes of the three scholarships and journals used to disseminate findings. By comparing the stages, it is clear that there are several commonalities in the approaches, yet the focus of each scholarship varies. SoTL tends to focus on the impact of practices on student learning; SoAD studies the development of faculty as educators; and SoLC evaluates the outcomes of learning communities itch could vary in scope and characteristics. The presentation was easy to follow, and the examples of journal articles and diagrams of the scholarly processes were very helpful. A main takeaway is that there are major procedural commonalities as well as some differences: while some SoLC studies can include SoTL, some may not, for example. It is worth thinking about the three scholarships and their aims. As we work together, build communities, and help prepare new instructors, there could be new avenues for studies and outlets for dissemination. I didn’t even know about SoLC and SoAD before tonight!
