Book Review
“Enhancing Learning Through the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: The Challenges and Joys of Juggling” By Kathleen McKinney
Review by Paula Marguerite Storm, MILS, Assistant Professor, Eastern Michigan University.

This very useful, practical book should be the first one anyone reads before embarking on a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) project.  The author leads the reader step-by-step through the SoTL research process; she focuses on how faculty can incorporate the results they obtain into improving students’ learning while adding to their scholarship portfolio.

Written primarily for college-level faculty, this book explains the history of SoTL, why it is important, what makes it unique, and how it can be incorporated into the already busy schedules of teaching faculty.  Dr. McKinney, a professor of sociology at Illinois State University and an advocate of the SoTL, describes the importance of collaboration in the design of a SoTL project and how faculty can get both financial support as well as the support of their colleagues and university administration. 

Ethical considerations of a SoTL project comprise one whole chapter, which is followed by chapters describing various research methods and options for disseminating the results of such a project.  Dr. McKinney‘s writing is clear, concise, free of jargon, and very well organized.   Each chapter includes a preface explaining what the chapter includes and ends with a concluding paragraph summarizing the preceding information. 

Dr. McKinney includes a comprehensive bibliography as well as eight appendices: a list of SoTL journals and newsletters; funding sources; additional resources on SoTL and research/assessment including web sites, books, and articles; and examples of proposals, tenure and promotion language, campus surveys, and possible Institutional Review Board questions.

In addition to an excellent resource for individual reading, this book can be used as the base for workshops or seminars.  Kathleen McKinney has given the SoTL community a truly valuable addition to the literature.

Title:  Enhancing Learning Through the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning:  The Challenges and Joys of Juggling
Authors:  McKinney, K.
Price:  $28.00 (paperback)
Publisher:  Jossey-Bass
Year:  2007
Pages:  224

ISBN:  1-933371-29-3