Prof. Hannah Cobb1, Dr Iain Wilson2, Prof. Earle Abrahamson3, Sue Beckingham4, Dr Peter D’Sena3, Dr Rose Gann2, Dr Emma Gillaspy5, Prof. Julie Hulme2, Prof. Dawne Irving-Bell6 and Prof. Susan Smith7
1University of Manchester, 2Nottingham Trent University, 3University of Hertfordshire, 4Sheffield Hallam University, 5University of Central Lancashire, 6BPP University, 7UCL
We had the privilege to share our new resource, the Scholarship Spotlight website, with the amazing minds at ANTF 2024. You can read about this in the first part of our blog which outlines the sections of the resource which we shared and received feedback on. But what did we learn?
1. “We need it for our university”
Our resource was warmly welcomed, with colleagues sharing on this padlet that this would be a valuable resource to share with a range of colleagues; especially senior figures who are less familiar with the concepts and practices of scholarship. As we had hoped, this resource may be able to support colleagues in Teaching Focused roles directly through advice and guidance, as well as indirectly by raising awareness of the excellent activities Scholarship. Which brings us onto…
2. “It’s vital it’s broad”
As highlighted in our first blog, Scholarship incorporates a range of practices and keeping a broad conceptualisation was welcomed by our audience. This does not mean that the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) has been dismissed, it has been embraced alongside other practices, such as Open Educational Resources (OER), networking, dissemination through other means to traditional journals, such as THE and WONKHE. This inclusive approach resonated with the audience as more inclusive and respected those engaged in all different facets of scholarship.
3. There are so many who can potentially benefit!
Pretty much all colleagues, ranging from those new to Learning and Teaching (e.g., PGRs who teach alongside their doctorate) to long-term lecturers, were identified as those who can benefit. We can always learn, no matter what stage of our career. It was also highlighted that it could be a resource for staff completing PGCAPs (or equivalent), regardless of the practice. One comment specifically highlighted that it shows the value of scholarship and that it is an evidence-informed practice, challenging the perspectives of those who may be less familiar, and/or value research over teaching. In short, anyone in HE may find value in this resource.
4. Let’s connect
A strong desire to connect with like-minded individuals across HE was present. This could take the form of a space to be able to network, share ideas and seek collaborations. Signposting subject-specific scholarship networks was also a popular idea to support and understand what scholarship can look like within their disciplines. Furthermore, having a space for viewers to upload and share upcoming events to raise awareness and build such networks further. Whatever the format of the interaction, it is clear that networking and building a critical mass of teaching focused colleagues was a vital recommendation from the audience.
5. The practical recommendations
In addition to the positive feedback, it was great to receive constructive feedback too on how to make the resource more valuable. Aspects such as opportunities to network, example case studies and a user noticeboard to share upcoming events, were some of the ideas shared with our team. It’s not just content though, considering how it is presented to ensure that it is engaging and clear was also recommended, particularly to engage senior colleagues. This could be through the use of more videos and images and less text, and the use of executive summary. There are lots of ideas to reflect on, which brings us to the end of this blog… but first…
6. Where do we go from here?
This is very much a resource in development, and we as a team need time to reflect on the feedback, to plan our next steps. Note, we say “so far”, we also warmly welcome this blog’s readers’ thoughts too (share on this padlet!). We are shining a spotlight on scholarship and through feedback from this amazingly collaborative community, helping us to understand how this resource can be most effective, we can make that spotlight brighter.
Asssociated read – Part 1: Published Friday, 13 September 2024
X (formerly Twitter): For more information and activities from the authors, please follow:
Dawne Irving-Bell: @DawneIrvingBell
Earle Abrahamson: @earleabrahamso2
Emma Gillaspy: @egillaspy
Hannah Cobb: @ArchaeoCobb
Iain Wilson: @Dr_Iain_Wilson
Julie Hulme: @JulieH_Psyc
Peter D’Sena: @hehistedu
Rose Gann: @RosejGann
Sue Beckingham: @suebecks
Susan Smith: @SmithySusanA
