​Good Teaching, Scholarly Teaching and SoTL all focus on improving teaching practices in order to improve student learning. However, SoTL researchers share their work so other educators can benefit from their findings.

GOOD TEACHING

​One way Lethbridge College demonstrates a commitment to “good” or “effective” teaching is by providing instructors with opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills through PD opportunities such as:
  • Mid-Semester Chats,
  • New Instructor Orientation,
  • Peer Observation,
  • Instructor Certification Program,
  • Awards such as the LCFA/SA Rookie of the Year Award and the LCFA/SA Teaching Excellence Award are designed to recognize and reward good/effective teaching.

SCHOLARY TEACHING

​Potter and Kustra (2011) offer the following perspectives about Scholarly Teaching:
  • “The goal of scholarly teaching is to improve one’s teaching through thoughtful analysis of what is effective and not effective in one’s practice” (P.5).
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  • “Scholarly teachers hold themselves and their work up to rigorous standards as objectively as possible, allowing for positive and negative discoveries regarding their teaching effectiveness. These discoveries provide evidence that, upon analysis and evaluation, informs and motivates intentional refinement” (P. 3).
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  • “…while scholarly teachers may use effective practices, what makes them scholarly are the reasons those practices are used” (P.12).
​Potter and Kustra define scholarly teaching as “teaching grounded in critical reflection using systematically and strategically gathered evidence, related and explained by well-reasoned theory and philosophical understanding, with the goal of maximizing learning through effective teaching” (P.3).

GOOD TEACHING vs SCHOLARLY TEACHING vs SoTL

A teacher can be effective, but not scholarly. A teacher can be scholarly but not effective.
​According to Potter and Kustra (2011), both Scholarly Teaching and SoTL focus on maximizing student learning. However, they suggest that Scholarly Teaching has a more direct influence, whereas SoTL is more indirect. They state: 
“The latter seeks understanding, and makes that understanding available to others through publicly shared products – which can be used by scholarly teachers to inform their teaching, potentially helping them teach more effectively” (P. 7)

References

Potter, Michael K. and Kustra, Erika D.H. (2011) "The Relationship between Scholarly Teaching and SoTL: Models, Distinctions, and Clarifications," International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Vol. 5: No. 1, Article 23 https://doi.org/10.20429/ijsotl.2011.050123