Collections
Expertly curated content on a wide range of pedagogically focused topics
Collaborative Writing in SoTL
Whether you're new to SoTL co-authorship or refining your approach, this collection offers resources to help you navigate collaborative writing. You'll find resources on authorship expectations, productive workflows, and models for structuring your work together.
Navigating SoTL Ethics and the IRB
Navigating ethical considerations and institutional review board (IRB) processes is a critical part of SoTL. This collection offers practical guidance and examples on what qualifies as research, how to prepare an IRB application, and how to uphold ethical standards in classroom-based research.
What is SoTL?
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is the systematic study of teaching and learning made public, such as through publication in an education research journal or at a conference. This collection will introduce you to this type of classroom-based research.
Developing SoTL Research Questions
Developing a strong research question is a critical first step in conducting a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) project. This collection offers guiding frameworks and practical strategies to help you move from a general topic of interest to a well-defined SoTL inquiry.
In-Class Polling for Student Engagement
Instead of asking our students "Any questions?" and hoping for a response, we can use polling technologies to enable and invite all of our students to share their questions and respond to ours. The resources in this collection will help you use these technologies intentionally for student learning.
Teaching as Inquiry, Not Advocacy
A professor is not a politician or a preacher. An instructor may know that their teaching is rooted in academic inquiry, not advocacy, but how can they make this clear to students and others? These resources help instructors answer this question and establish themselves as honest brokers.
Compassionate Online Course Design
Discover how compassionate online course design can help you put flexibility, peer support, and motivation at the heart of the online learning experience.
Standards-Based Grading
These resources provide an introduction to Standards-Based Grading, an alternative grading philosophy in which students' grades are based primarily on the number of content standards they demonstrate mastery of at any point in the term.
Leveraging WordPress for Student ePortfolios, Blogs, and Websites
This collection considers the research on and reasons for having students create ePortfolios, blogs, or websites. It also features guidance on using WordPress at UVA, including instructions for integrating the tool into UVACanvas.
Reciprocal Peer Teaching Observations
Peer observation of teaching need not happen only as part of faculty evaluation processes. Observing each others' classes with the purpose of reflecting and providing feedback to one another benefits instructional quality as well as collegial connection.
Emotions and Learning
We often think of learning as a purely cognitive activity, one characterized by cold intellect and impartiality. This collection offers a counterpoint, presenting theoretical grounding, data, and practical suggestions for centering emotional and motivational aspects of teaching and learning.
Teaching for Democratic Engagement and Civic Learning
Across the disciplines, instructors can support students’ development as citizens and voters. These resources explore ways to incorporate this work in your courses, design engaging activities for civic skills building, and prepare for high-stakes discussions in polarized times.
Assessment as Learning
How can we transform assessment from a summative event to one that actively engages students in learning? This collection explores approaches to assessment that foster self-regulation, reflection, and evaluative judgment, and that support students in becoming life-long learners.
Improving Students' Feedback Literacy
When students receive feedback on their work, what do they do with it? Feedback literacy encompasses the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that students need to appreciate the value of feedback, engage in feedback processes, and take responsibility for their own learning and development.
Integrating AI into Assignments to Support Student Learning
What role might generative AI play in helping students meet the learning goals we have for them? This collection features concrete examples of assignments that thoughtfully integrate AI to support student learning.
Exploring and Defining an Educator's Scope of Practice
It can be challenging to manage all the responsibilities associated with teaching, advising students, and engaging in research and service to your department, college, or discipline. Reflecting on your scope of practice can help you clarify your roles and boundaries to help you thrive.
Incorporating Metacognition into Teaching
Metacognition—awareness of one's own thought processes—isn't just important for students! These resources introduce you to strategies for incorporating metacognitive awareness into your own teaching in order to become more conscious of students' needs and more responsive in your lesson planning.
An Introduction to Contemplative Pedagogy
This collection is for instructors from all fields—often inspired by their own contemplative practice—who are looking for ways to engage students more wholistically and develop their capacity for awareness, concentration, and insight.
Reflective Teaching Statements
A reflective teaching statement is a short narrative that describes your beliefs, goals, and practices regarding teaching and learning in your field. This collection offers guidelines for writing teaching statements, examples from several disciplines, and a rubric to assess your teaching statement.
How Can You Integrate Inclusive Course Design Principles Into Your Canvas Course?
If you're interested in how you can leverage principles of transparency, sense of belonging, and accessibility to enhance your course in Canvas, check out the resources in this collection! We provide definitions for these concepts and include suggestions for small, incremental changes as well as larger, structural changes.