The Grounded Instruction Librarian: Participating in The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) refers to original research and scholarship on teaching and learning practice in higher education conducted by scholars across disciplines interested in understanding student learning, teaching innovations, and transforming higher education. SoTL work is situated in a specific time and place, publicly disseminated, and diverse in discipline, theory, and method.

Across four sections—Pedagogical Content Knowledge/Signature Pedagogy, SoTL Theory, SoTL Research, and SoTL as Professional Development—The Grounded Instruction Librarian engages SoTL through different lenses and provides a sense of the varied ways it's currently being conducted in academic libraries in North America and Europe. Each section begins with a foundational chapter from SoTL leaders that discusses central questions, highlights important theories and literature, and introduces the SoTL-in-practice chapters that follow. The practical chapters highlight work at the more local level and take a range of forms, from case studies from specific institutions, reflections on individual participation in SoTL work, to explorations of a particular topic or theme.

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning unleashes great potential in librarianship, and academic librarians are ideal candidates for participation in SoTL projects: We're inquisitive, passionate, and we care about student success. The Grounded Instruction Librariancan provide innovative ideas and methods to help you use SoTL as a professional development tool, a research agenda, a way to create theory, or for a deeper understanding of your teaching and your students' learning.