Publishing

SoTL Research Papers

Because SoTL Research strengthens one’s candidacy for tenure or promotion by documenting teaching excellence and highlighting active interest in improving pedagogy, SoTL Research project reports are excellent additions to teaching portfolios. Perhaps even more importantly, though, SoTL Research expands one’s publishing opportunities; numerous interdisciplinary and discipline-specific journals provide relevant outlets. SoTL Research papers can be roughly organized into five categories: 

  • Empirical research papers report on data collection and analyses used to answer a specific SoTL Research question by testing a corresponding hypothesis
  • Theoretical research papers describe new disciplinary education theories or models or learning processes
  • Methodology papers describe new pedagogical materials or methods developed in the context of SoTL Research projects.
  • Literature reviews synthesize and evaluate published literature on a particular SoTL Research topic, describing patterns and identifying gaps in order to make recommendations for future research directions.
  • Commentary articles present a personal opinion to provide insight into an issue or trend of broad interest to the SoTL Research community.

Most SOLER-supported SoTL Research projects will yield empirical research papers, methodology papers, or commentary articles. 

See below for information about general and discipline-specific journals that publish various types of SoTL Research papers.

Journals

Kennesaw State University's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning maintains an extensive database of disciplinary and interdisciplinary SoTL journals.