The goal of this interactive workshop is to increase participants’ knowledge of and capacity to conduct and publish scholarship of teaching and learning. This workshop has appeal for the broad NACTA membership, but particularly members early in their teaching career, or those interested in enhancing their ability to empirically test innovative teaching methods and document learner outcomes.

Learning objectives include, 1) Explain scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL; also called research in teaching and learning, RiTL); 2) Develop appropriate SoTL questions and methods; 3) Identify potential outputs and publication opportunities; 4) Design a SoTL project. The NACTA Southern Region leadership, a multi-institutional team, in collaboration with NACTA Journal Editorial team members will present the workshop. We will define scholarship of teaching and learning (also known as research in teaching and learning) and operationalize it through case studies from various agriculture and agriculture-related educational contexts. We will explore different methodological approaches including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. We will incorporate specific examples emphasizing study design and measurement. We will assist participants as they identify research opportunities in their existing teaching practices and consider methods for measuring and analyzing the effectiveness of those practices to share with a broader audience. A panel of NACTA Journal Editorial team members and authors of SoTL articles in the NACTA Journal will discuss opportunities and recommendations for publishing SoTL manuscripts, including research articles and teaching tips. The workshop will culminate in a hands-on activity where we will organize participants into groups based on the research design they are most interested in applying, and by disciplinary context (if possible) to collaborate and develop or refine SoTL plans. Workshop facilitators will engage with groups to provide guidance or advice as needed. Attendees should conclude the experience with a draft SoTL project they can implement in their coursework.