I am a huge advocate for multi-purposing, much like the Swiss army knife in the accompanying image. The same is true of my views on data. Collect it once and use it (at least) twice. Most data can be utilized to answer a number of questions, and multi-purposing saves effort on the part of both the researcher and participants. This is true for SoTL as well. Much of the data we collect as a normal part of course activity is useful data for a SoTL project. Some of these activities include:
- Course evaluation data
- Student work and assessments
- Teaching reflections
- Classroom assessment techniques (CATs)
When thinking about your SoTL question, identify data you are already collecting that can be used to answer your question before creating new data collection tools. Using the above sources often allow us to make comparisons between course sections, years, and semesters because we tend to keep at least some of the same questions, assignments, assessments, or notes on what worked or didn’t from year to year. In addition to making comparisons, existing course data might be used to help answer questions similar to the following:
- Does the use of humor in the classroom increase student perceptions of instructor friendliness? (course evaluation data)
- Do documented problem solution activities increase student’s ability to identify errors in their work? (CATs & student work)
- Which instructional technique is most effective in helping students develop self-regulated learning skills? (teacher reflections)
While the above examples utilize existing data in part, most of these would also utilize a new source of data as well. Additionally, collecting information for class purposes does not automatically allow it to be utilized in research. SoTL projects do use human subjects and therefore, should be routed through the appropriate IRB channels before beginning data collection.
Subscribe to the blog to be sure you don’t miss the next blog in the SoTL series. If you would like to talk through a potential SoTL idea, please contact the CITL for an individual consultation. If you have suggestions for SoTL topics you would like to see discussed in the blog, please leave a comment below.
Leave a Reply