GTLP Level 4: Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Level 4: Scholarship and Teaching Learning builds on your engagement with teaching scholarship in previous levels together with the practical skills you developed. It offers you the opportunity to undertake an advanced SoTL research or course development project (minimum of 60 hours) under the guidance of a faculty member or senior educator in post-secondary. This scholarly pursuit of teaching and learning questions will improve your teaching effectiveness and student learning, and demonstrate your active interest in teaching on job applications, and later for tenure and promotion.

Level 4 is a partnership with the Centre for Teaching and Learning, which facilitates mentoring sessions for each cohort.

Examples of projects might include publishing outcomes from a series of TA assignments, developing a new learning module/activity/lab in coordination with an instructor or carrying out a small teaching-related research project.

Prerequisites:

  • Level 3: Pedagogy and Course Design
  • Students who are selected for a research assistantship with the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) will be assigned a project supervisor.
  • Candidates completing a project outside of a CTL research assistantship must secure their own project supervisor. Students can find supervisors by approaching a previous TA supervisor or holder of funded teaching projects such as Vargo and Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund (TLEF), or contact GPS. Funding is expected to align with the usual employment practices of the host department and funded projects are also open for discussion.

Time Commitment

Minimum of 60 hours of scholarly work. The maximum number of hours is dependent on other appointments. For example, Research or Teaching Assistantships (RA/TA).

Level 4 Application for candidates with a SoTL project and supervisor

Level 4 Application for candidates interested in a SoTL project with  CTL

GTLP At-A-Glance

Level 4 Enrolment

Level 4: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning is open to current graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Level 4 does not have a regular intake of applicants. Those interested in pursuing a Level 4 project, or supervisors looking for students with this kind of expertise, should contact Jay Friesen, Educational Curriculum Developer (jayf@ualberta.ca) with a brief description of the project and the name of your supervisor or proposed student.

 Apply for Level

Learning Objectives
  • Expand knowledge of SoTL research and practices in higher education;
  • Gain experience in collaborative research;
  • Develop skills in the design, execution, and evaluation of a SoTL research and/or development project;
  • Disseminate research via public presentation and/or publication;
  • Increase capacity to set and evaluate personal teaching and learning goals; and
  • Build skills in being a critical colleague and providing feedback on scholarly research.
Intended Learning Outcomes
  • Design a project focused on course/unit/workshop development/research project which furthers SoTL;
  • Refine project to meet principal investigator's goals, personal goals and project timelines;
  • Identify trends, debates, and gaps in the research related to the project through a literature review;
  • Identify and analyze relevant evidence;
  • Identify and apply relevant principles of teaching and learning to develop and conduct project;
  • Set and monitor personal progress in achieving project-specific learning outcomes;
  • Select and execute appropriate assessment methods to evaluate project efficacy or success;
  • Demonstrate effective interpersonal and communication strategies to offer and receive effective peer feedback;
  • Demonstrate ethical principles in teaching, research methods, and professional conduct; and
  • Express knowledge acquisition and integration via public presentation/ publication.
Completion Requirements and Transcript Notation
Successful completion includes the development of a research portfolio including: (1) a SoTL Development Plan; (2) literature review; (3) project dissemination through public presentation or publication; and, (4) exit survey/critical reflection. Participation in regular cohort mentoring sessions is mandatory and a factor in level completion.

Graduate students who complete Level 4 will receive the following notation on their transcripts: Graduate Teaching and Learning Program: Research. All participants will receive completion letters for their teaching dossiers.
GTL 4 Scholars
  • Laura Woodman, In Progress - Supervisors: Rhonda Breitkreuz and Adam Galovan, Project:  To analyze the impact of the community of practice on early learning and childcare practices of Alberta family childcare educators.
  • Sophie Shi, In Progress - Supervisors: Renee Polziehn & Jay Friesen
  • Brittany Gerris, 2023 - Supervisor: Rob McMahon, Project: Using Digital Storytelling Assignments in College Marketing Classes
  • Danielle Nagy, 2023 - Supervisors: Dr. Theresa Charrois and Dr. Jill Hall, Project: Using Pharm 546 to explore professional fulfilment, burnout, and professional identity formation
  • Erin Ratelle, 2023 - Supervisors: Renee Polziehn & Jay Friesen
    Project: Working (and Reworking) Through The Course Design Process
  • Danielle Morris-O'Connor, 2022 - Supervisor: Bradley Ambury, 
    Project: Exploring Scholarly Personal Narrative: Developing a Focus on Student Wellbeing through Teaching Experience, Confidence, and Vulnerability
  • Andrews Tawiah, 2022 - Supervisor: Bernadette Martin, 
    Project: Evaluation of Clinical Reasoning within a Clinical Encounter Simulation Practical Exam Station
  • Heidi Cossey, 2021- Supervisor: Ellen Watson, Project: Teaching Culture at the University of Alberta through CTL
  • Rayna Sharma, 2021 - Supervisor: Neil Haave, Project: Active Learning Project through CTL
  • Cole Gross, 2019 - Supervisor: Neil Haave, Project: Active Learning Project through CTL
  • Mostafa Tawfeek, 2019 - Supervisor: John Nychka, Project: IDP/PD Survey
  • Dr. Hossein Daneshvar, 2019 - Supervisor: Y.H. Chui, Project: Structural Timber Design in Curricula of Canadian Universities: Current Status and Future Needs (funded by the Canadian Wood Council - CWC)
  • Ahlam Abdulnabi, 2017 - Supervisor: Suzanne Kresta, Project: Integration of Language Learning into Engineering Programs: A Survey of program designs and constraints across Canada
  • Kathleen Danser, 2017 - Supervisor: Janice Miller-Young, Project: CTL project and/or Throwing the Technology out with the bathwater - technology in the classroom and student performance (CTL Summer Fellowship)
  • Heather Gautreau, 2017 - Supervisor: John Nychka, Project: Transitioning into and out of Graduate School - outcomes and core technical and soft skills development (Vargo Chair)
  • Stephen Lane, 2017 -  Supervisor: Mark Freeman, Project: TA Training modules for 1st-year Physics Labs - effective questioning (funded by the Chair of the Physics Dept. as a TA)
Contact Information

Questions regarding the Graduate Teaching and Learning Program (GTLP), including the recent changes to the program can be directed to: gradpd@ualberta.ca