The Advancement of Learning

A publication of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, this important resource builds on the work of Carnegie's best-selling books, Scholarship Reconsidered and Scholarship Assessed. The Advancement of Learning explores the premise that the scholarship of teaching and learning holds the key to improving the quality of higher education.

The Advancement of Learning answers questions readers are likely to have:

• What are the defining elements of the scholarship of teaching and learning?
• What traditions does it build on?
• What are its distinctive claims and possibilities?
• What are the implications of the scholarship of teaching and learning for academic culture and careers?
• How does it shape the student experience?

In addition, authors Mary Taylor Huber and Pat Hutchings introduce a new concept that expands on the scholarship of teaching and learning--the teaching commons. As the authors explain, the teaching commons is a conceptual space in which communities of educators committed to inquiry and innovation come together to exchange ideas about teaching and learning and use them to meet the challenges of educating students for personal, professional, and civic life.

Foreword v
Lee S. Shulman

Preface ix

About the Authors xvii

1. Surveying the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 1

2. Defining Features 17

3. Mapping the Commons 35

4. Pathways into the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 59

5. The Campus as Commons 77

6. Knowledge Building and Exchange 93

7. An Action Agenda for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 111

Appendix: Survey of CASTL Scholars 133

References 151

Index 175

Mary Taylor Huber is a senior scholar at The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Pat Hutchings is vice president of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

A publication of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, this important resource builds on the work of Carnegie's best-selling books, Scholarship Reconsidered and Scholarship Assessed. The Advancement of Learning explores the premise that the scholarship of teaching and learning holds the key to improving the quality of higher education.

The Advancement of Learning answers questions readers are likely to have: What are the defining elements of the scholarship of teaching and learning? What traditions does it build on? What are its distinctive claims and possibilities? What are the implications of the scholarship of teaching and learning for academic culture and careers? How does it shape the student experience? In addition, authors Mary Taylor Huber and Pat Hutchings introduce a new concept that expands on the scholarship of teaching and learning—the teaching commons. As the authors explain, the teaching commons is a conceptual space in which communities of educators committed to inquiry and innovation come together to exchange ideas about teaching and learning and use them to meet the challenges of educating students for personal, professional, and civic life.

The Advancement of Learning is filled with illustrative examples of the scholarship of teaching and learning from a wide range of fields and settings. The book explores what it takes for faculty to become engaged in such work and details the structures and policies that campuses need to develop in order to support faculty engagement with the teaching commons. The authors take stock of developments to date and clearly show the benefits for those who invest the necessary time and resources.

Drawing from the many facets of a movement that has the potential to shape the work of all faculty in higher education, The Advancement of Learning offers a unique vision of the scholarship of teaching and learning.

"The scholarship of teaching and learning is not a magic bullet that will shoot through higher education and suddenly solve the many challenges to successful student learning today. But it is a tool, an attitude, and an evolving set of habits that faculty and institutions can use to strengthen the educational enterprise."
—from the Preface

"This clear and elegant volume offers specific suggestions and examples of how the scholarship of teaching and learning can revitalize faculty, enhance student learning, contribute to assessment, and shape campus climate. The Advancement of Learning is rich with the stories and experiences of faculty who have used the scholarship of teaching and learning between experiences to understand and change their own classrooms, and it offers practical suggestions for campuses to create a 'commons' in which such knowledge can be shared for mutual benefit."
—Barbara E. Walvoord, coordinator, Self-Study for North Central Accreditation; fellow, Institute for Educational Initiatives; concurrent professor of English, University of Notre Dame

"I believe that the scholarship of teaching and learning is the most promising development in higher education today, and that this book is the best thing that could happen to it. Rather than engage in cheerleading, the authors calmly describe and characterize what is happening; and they do so with an honesty, empathy, and eye for detail that allows the movement to speak for itself. They introduce us to what real faculty are doing and take the view that all these varied activities belong in the 'commons.' More than just a book, this is an invitation to participate."
—Russ Edgerton, director, Pew Forum on Undergraduate Teaching; president emeritus, AAHE

“This clear and elegant volume offers specific suggestions and examples of how the scholarship of teaching and learning can revitalize faculty, enhance student learning, contribute to assessment, and shape campus climate. The Advancement of Learning is rich with the stories and experiences to understand and change their own classrooms, and it offers practical suggestions for campuses to create a ‘commons’ in which such knowledge can be shared for mutual benefit.”--Barbara E. Walvoord, coordinator, Self-Study for North Central Accreditation Fellow, Institute for Educational Initiatives, concurrent professor of English, University of Notre Dame

“I believe that the scholarship of teaching and learning is the most promising development in higher education today, and that this book is the best thing that could ever happen to it. Rather than engage in cheerleading, the authors calmly describe and characterize what is happening; and they do so with an honesty, empathy, and eye for detail that allows the movement to speak for itself. They introduce us to what real faculty are doing and take the view that all these varied activities belong in the ‘commons.’ More than just a book, this is an invitation to participate.”--Russ Edgerton, director, Pew Forum on Undergraduate Teaching; president emeritus, AAHE