Phenomenology as a methodology for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning research

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.7.1.11

Keywords:

Phenomenology, SoTL, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Higher Education, Methodology, Lived Experience

Abstract

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a rich forum where scholars from different fields and philosophical orientations find space to share their research on teaching and learning in higher education. Within this paper, we will share our individual and collective experiences of why we perceive phenomenology as a methodology well-suited for a broad range of SoTL purposes. Phenomenology is a research approach that focuses on describing the common meaning of the lived experience of several individuals about a particular phenomenon. We will discuss how phenomenology informed our own SoTL research projects, exploring the experiences of faculty and undergraduates in higher education. We will highlight the challenges and affordances that emerged from our use of this methodology. Phenomenology has motivated us to tell our stories of SoTL research and within those, to share the stories that faculty and students shared.

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Author Biographies

Andrea S. Webb, University of British Columbia

Andrea S. Webb is an Instructor 1 in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia (CAN). Her work focuses on developing educational leadership in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

Ashley J. Welsh, University of British Columbia

Ashley J. Welsh is a Faculty Liaison (Faculty of Science) cross-appointed between the Science Centre for Learning and Teaching and the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology at the University of British Columbia (CAN). She advises and supports faculty and graduate students with the development and evaluation of teaching and learning enhancement projects.

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Published

2019-03-29

How to Cite

Webb, Andrea S., and Ashley J. Welsh. 2019. “Phenomenology As a Methodology for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Research”. Teaching and Learning Inquiry 7 (1):168-81. https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.7.1.11.