Phenomenology as a methodology for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning research
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.7.1.11Keywords:
Phenomenology, SoTL, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Higher Education, Methodology, Lived ExperienceAbstract
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.
Metrics
References
Adams, C., & van Manen, M. (2008). Phenomenology. In L. M. Given (Ed.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods, Vol. 2 (pp. 614-619). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Anderson, D., Nashon, S., & Thomas, G. (2009). Evolution of research methods for probing and understanding metacognition. Research in Science Education, 39(2), 181-195.
Boekaerts, M., & Corno, L. (2005). Self-regulation in the classroom: A perspective on assessment and intervention. Applied Psychology: An international review, 54(2), 199-231.
Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S. K. (1998). Qualitative research in education: An introduction to theory and methods (Vol. 3rd). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Creswell, J. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
D’Andrea, V. (2006). Exploring the methodological issues related to pedagogical inquiry in Higher Education. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 107, 89-98. doi: 10.1002/t1.247.
Dall’Alba, G. (2009). Phenomenology and education: An introduction. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 41(1), 7-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-5812.2008.00479.x .
Danielson, M.A. (2012). SoTL as a generative heuristic methodology for building learning communities. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 6(2). Retrieved on July 5, 2013 from http://www.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/v6n2/invited_essays/Danielson/index.htm
Giorgi, A.P., & Giorgi, B.M. (2003). The descriptive phenomenological psychological method. In P.M. Camic, J.E. Rhodes, & L. Yardley (Eds.), Qualitative research in psychology: Expanding perspectives in methodology and design (pp. 243-273). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Heidegger, M. (1927/1962). Being and time. [1962 text trans. J. Macquarrie & E. Robinson]. Oxford, U.K.: Blackwell.
Hubball, H.T. & Clarke, A. (2010). Diverse methodological approaches and considerations for SoTL in higher education. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 1(1). http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea/vol1/iss1/.
Huber, M.T. (2010). Editorial: CASTL has concluded. Long live the scholarship of teaching and learning. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 9(1), 5-8.
Kanuka, H. (2011). Keeping the scholarship in the scholarship of teaching and learning. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 5(1). Retrieved on August 8, 2011 from http://www.georgiasouthern.ed/ijsotl/v5n1/invited_essays/Kanuka/index.html
Kreber, C. (2007). What’s it really all about?: The scholarship of teaching and learning as an authentic practice. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 1(1). Retrieved on July 12, 2011 from http://www.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/2007_v1n1.htm
Kreber, C. & Cranton, P. (2000). Exploring the scholarship of teaching. The Journal of Higher Education, 71(4), 476-495.
Lincoln, Y.S., & Guba, E.G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
Lopez, K.A. & Willis, D.G. (2004). Descriptive versus interpretive phenomenology: Their contributions to nursing knowledge. Qualitative Health Research, 14(5), 726 - 735. doi: 10.1177/1049732304263638
Mertens, D. (1998). Research methods in education and psychology: Integrating diversity with quantitative and qualitative approaches. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Østergaard, E., Dahlin, B., & Hugo, A. (2008). Doing phenomenology in science education: A research review. Studies in Science Education, 44(2), 93-121.
Parker, J. (2008). Theory of SoTL: translating international perspectives. The London Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 7th International Conference Proceedings 2008, City University London. 4, 171-176.
Potter, M. & Kustra, E. (2011). The relationship between scholarly teaching and SoTL: models, distinctions, and clarifications. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 5(1). Retrieved on July 1, 2013 from http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/v5n1/essays_about_sotl/PotterKustra/index.html
Sale, J. E. M., Lohfeld, L. H., & Brazil, K. (2002). Revisiting the quantitative qualitative debate: Implications for mixed-methods research. Quality & Quantity, 36(1), 43-53.
Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Svinicki, M.D. (2012). “Who is entitled to do SoTL?” International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 6(2). Retrieved December 15, 2012, from http://www.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/v6n2/invited_essays/Svinicki/index.htm
Tracy, S. (2010). Qualitative quality: Eight ‘big tent’ criteria for excellent qualitative research. Qualitative Inquiry, 16(10), 837-851. doi: 10.1177/1077800410383121
Treagust, D. F., Won, M., & Duit, R. (2014). Paradigms in science education. In L. Norman & S. K. Abell (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Science Education (Vol. II, pp. 3-17). New York: Routledge.
Van Manen, M. (1997). Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy (2nd ed.). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Wertz, F.J., Charmaz, K., McMullen, L.M., Josselson, R., Anderson, R., & McSpadden, E. (2011). Five ways of doing qualitative analysis. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and method (Vol. 4th). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2019 Andrea Webb, Ashley J Welsh
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.