Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) 

Definition

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is the systematic, evidence-based study of teaching and student learning, informed by existing research and shared publicly through presentations, publications, or other scholarly forms. A robust body of literature helps educators make informed improvements to courses and curricula, strengthens student learning, and translates individual classroom discoveries into knowledge that benefits higher education more broadly.

SoTL Support at CC

Colorado College is defined by its commitment to teaching. In fact, CC is consistently ranked among the finest teaching institutions in the country. Published evidence of our excellence in this regard is, however, relatively scarce. Therefore, the Crown Center has developed a three-year pilot program providing incentives and support for CC faculty members to explore, amplify, and share innovative pedagogical practices.

The Crown SoTL Initiative (2026-2029)

Beginning in the 2026 academic year, the Crown Center will launch a pilot program to amplify and support scholarly explorations of pedagogical innovations at CC. The program includes:

• A series of workshops designed to help faculty members write critically about their teaching goals, strategies, and outcomes.
• Ongoing Educator Learning Community (ELC) sessions and blockly Scholarly Writing & Research Group (SWARG) gatherings to provide peer support for faculty members exploring SoTL projects.
• One-on-one sessions with Crown Center staff to support co-author matchmaking, idea generation, and article submissions.
• A SoTL Summer Fellowship Program that provides stipends to faculty actively pursuing SoTL scholarly research, writing, and presentation opportunities.
• A symposium (2029) bringing together SoTL scholars specializing in block plan/intensive learning teaching formats.

SoTL Resources

Organizations supporting SoTL research and publication:

• International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL): The principal international professional organization for SoTL. It offers conferences, interest groups, podcasts, awards, collaborative writing groups, and the journal Teaching & Learning Inquiry.
• POD Network: Particularly useful for faculty developers and teaching-center staff. It offers publications, conferences, professional communities, and research grants.
• International Block and Intensive Learning and Teaching Association (IBILTA): The principal international association devoted specifically to block, intensive, and immersive higher education. It provides membership, conferences, workshops, regional chapters, awards, networks, publications, and recorded resources.

Research Resources:

• Cornell College—Researching on the Block: Practical guidance for structuring research assignments, library instruction, independent work, field activities, and individual consultation within a one-course-at-a-time calendar
• Elon University Center for Engaged Learning: Resources on defining SoTL, student–faculty research partnerships, engaged learning, publishing, and promotion and tenure
• Intensive Mode Teaching Guide: An evidence-informed guide for designing, teaching, supporting, and administering intensive courses
• ISSOTL Grand Challenges: Five broad research areas useful for identifying significant SoTL questions and positioning projects within international conversations
• Learn in Block/QAA Block Delivery Project: A collection of podcasts, videos, case studies, conference presentations, guidance, and a bibliography of more than 80 articles, chapters, and reports on block and immersive teaching
• ISSOTL Annotated Literature Database: Topic-based introductions and annotated readings for researchers entering unfamiliar areas of SoTL
• SoTL Bibliography from Illinois State University: A substantial bibliography of foundational and discipline-based SoTL literature
• Vanderbilt SoTL Guide: A free, structured guide covering research questions, literature reviews, ethics, evidence, project design, data analysis, quality, and dissemination 

Intensive Learning/Block Plan SoTL Articles

• Konjarski, “The Block: A Catalyst for Ongoing Innovation” (2023)
• Kidd, “Higher Ed in Half the Time: A Literature Review on the Shortened Course Format” (2025)
• Male et al., “Students’ Experiences of Threshold Capability Development with Intensive Mode Teaching”
• Kretovics, Crowe, and Hyun, “A Study of Faculty Perceptions of Summer Compressed Courses”
• Loton et al., “Introducing Block Mode to First-Year University Students
• Dixon and O’Gorman, “‘Block Teaching’: Exploring Lecturers’ Perceptions”
• Freeman, Fedesco, and Cavin, “Teaching Compressed Courses: The Block Plan at Colorado College”

Publications Accepting SoTL Articles

• Active Learning in Higher Education: Research on effective learning, teaching, assessment, engagement, and active-learning approaches
• College Teaching/Taylor & Francis: Concise interdisciplinary studies of instructional practices, assessment, classroom management, and educational technology
• Higher Education Research & Development: Original research connecting higher-education theory, educational development, policy, and practice
• International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning/Georgia Southern University: International, interdisciplinary SoTL research; open access and double-blind peer reviewed
• International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education/Perdue: Research, theoretical work, and innovative practices related to postsecondary pedagogy
• Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning/Liberty University: Rigorous empirical research, theoretical work, and studies of innovative tertiary-level teaching practices
• Journal of Block and Intensive Learning and Teaching (IBILTA): A peer-reviewed, double-blind, open-access journal published by IBILTA
• Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning/Indiana University: Evidence-based studies of college and university teaching and student learning across disciplines
• Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice: Practice-connected research with relevance beyond one classroom
• Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence: Accessible research and practice-oriented scholarship for faculty, graduate students, instructional designers, and faculty developers
• Nordic Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: SoTL and scholarship of academic development, welcomes contributors from all disciplines and countries
• Studies in Higher Education/Taylor & Francis: Larger-scale or strongly theorized research on teaching, learning, institutions, policy, and higher education systems
• Teaching & Learning Inquiry/University of Calgary: Empirical or interpretive research, theory, commentary, reviews, and ‘SoTL in Process’ articles 
• Teaching in Higher Education/Taylor & Francis: Critical, theoretically developed scholarship that transcends disciplinary boundaries. Better suited to conceptually ambitious projects than descriptive classroom reports