Scholarship of Teaching and Learning When Bridging Theory and Practice in Higher Education

Abstract

This article reports the outcomes of a literature review and empirical data. The aim is to provide a rationale for why bridging the well documented theory-practice gap is critical for helping academics to develop as teachers in the scholarship of teaching. The question of how Boyer’s concept of scholarship, with a special focus on the scholarship of application and the relation between theory and practice can be taken in consideration when arranging teaching and learning in higher education, is discusse d. It is argued that an inclusive nature of relationships between theory and practice is a holistic necessity for professional development. This work builds on previous studies of professional development by Dreyfus and Dreyfus. The result suggests that a well organized mentorship in combination with active participants are two strategies to interweave theory with practice in teacher training in higher education in order to support the scholarship of teaching.