Phenomenology as a methodology for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning research

Abstract

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a rich forum where scholars from different fields and philosophical orientations find space to share their research on teaching and learning in higher education. Within this paper, we will share our individual and collective experiences of why we perceive phenomenology as a methodology well-suited for a broad range of SoTL purposes. Phenomenology is a research approach that focuses on describing the common meaning of the lived experience of several individuals about a particular phenomenon. We will discuss how phenomenology informed our own SoTL research projects, exploring the experiences of faculty and undergraduates in higher education. We will highlight the challenges and affordances that emerged from our use of this methodology. Phenomenology has motivated us to tell our stories of SoTL research and within those, to share the stories that faculty and students shared.