Challenges to Disciplinary Knowing and Identity: Experiences of Scholars in a SoTL Development Program

• Main Authors: Janice Miller-Young, Michelle Yeo, Karen Manarin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Georgia Southern University 2018-01-01
• Series: International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
• Subjects: faculty development; multidisciplinary; SoTL; discomfort; epistemology; identity
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/ij-sotl/vol12/iss1/3

Faculty members from five years of an annual Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) development program were invited to participate in a study about the impact of SoTL on their teaching, scholarship, and career trajectory. During semi-structured interviews, many expressed feeling discomfort during their journey into SoTL. A qualitative analysis using the constant comparison method showed that this discomfort was sometimes due to contrasts between SoTL and their discipline’s epistemology, as well as challenges to their identity as a teacher, researcher, and a colleague. We conclude with suggestions for how faculty development and multidisciplinary SoTL communities of practice can be planned and managed.