On April 7th, 2010, Kay Gillespie PhD (associate editor of the journal Innovative Higher Education aka "IHE") spoke at the UCF SoTL Showcase. Her topic was taking our research to publication.
Dr. Gillespie's presentation started by invoking Boyer's seminal text Scholarship Reconsidered (1990) which says that teachers must "...break out of the tired old teaching versus research debate and define, in more creative ways, what it means to be a scholar" (p. xii).
According to Boyer, a broad conception of scholarship includes four forms:
Scholarship of discovery is the traditional type of research (basic research) that involves the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake and the discovery of new knowledge. Examples of this type of scholarship are typical and include publications in refereed journals, books, etc. that describe original research, presentations at professional meetings that do the same, grants obtained to conduct such research, etc.
Scholarship of integration involves interpreting and drawing insights from the facts and findings of original research, drawing them together, integrating and summarizing them, and creating new conclusions, implications, and interpretations from the integration. Examples of this type of scholarship included publications in refereed journals, books, etc., that describe the integration of professional knowledge, presentations at professional meetings that do the same the writing of textbooks and nonacademic writings which integrate the knowledge base, grants obtained to conduct such scholarship, etc.
Scholarship of application involves exploring the dynamic between theory and action in applying the professional knowledge base in solving practical problems in practical settings in rigorous ways. This form of scholarship attempts to relate the service role of faculty to scholarship. Examples of this type of scholarship include efforts to help solve practical problems in educational settings by applying professional theory, conceptions, methods, and findings, such as action research projects, grants obtained to conduct such scholarship, etc.
Scholarship of teaching involves the highly complex, dynamic activity of constructing, creating, sharing, and communicating the knowledge base to “students”. To do so effectively requires a deep knowledge and understanding of the topic as well as constant reflection and review of the topic and the teaching-learning experience. Of the four forms of scholarship, scholarship of teaching will probably be the most controversial.
Dr. Gillespie then spoke about the submission process and moving to publication of SoTL research.
Dr. Gillespie advised to pick a journal by reviewing these criteria:
Discipline-Specific or General
Examine Journal Goals (Dr. Gillespie provided a handout with IHE goals)
Review Editorial Board Membership
Acceptance Rate
Citation/Journal Statistics
Review Articles Published
Inquiries to Editor
Choosing the right journal requires analyzing all these factors and also a consideration of the impact on tenure. E.g., The National Teaching and Learning Forum is not as selective as the IHE.
Be attentive to Journal requirements.
As to likely Journals for our research, Lisa Mills and I noted (in the materials that were circulated at this presentation) that Kristin Congdon was published in Art Education and that Rudy McDaniel was published in the Journal of Online Learning and Teaching.
Also we should explore:
Innovative Higher Education
The Journal of Management Education
Studies in Graduate and Professional Student Development
The National Teaching and Learning Forum
