The similarities and differences between scholarly teaching and the scholarship of teaching and learning

Abstract

While engaging in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a laudable activity and an important endeavor for teaching improvement and the elevation of teaching within the academic and professional hierarchy, I suggest that increased and continued focus needs to be placed on enhancing scholarly teaching as a precursor to the scholarship of teaching and learning. I believe that there would be a greater return on investment, e.g., better teaching and greater learning, if universities first focus on enhancing scholarly teaching before efforts to encourage academic staff to develop time and resource-intensive SoTL projects. This article clarifies the similarities and differences between scholarly teaching and SoTL to assist universities in this process. I present an overview of scholarly teaching based on a model describing important variables in university teaching and learning, as well as a brief history and essential elements of SoTL. The article concludes with a summary of scholarly teaching and SoTL which suggests that the two educational processes possess complementary but, at times, divergent goals.