The Teacher The Excellence in Teaching at NGCSU Newsletter 1999-2OOO, Issue #2
Focus on Teaching and Learning: Student Responses Members of the steering committee Campus Conversations: Your Personal Invitation to Discuss Opportunities and Professional Development	What is Scholarship of Teaching? From the 1999-2000 RDPTL Steering Committee Scholarship of teaching refers to systematic inquiry into topics related to teaching or learning and dissemination of the results of this inquiry. The first set of campus conversations has provided us with the following definition of scholarship of teaching at NGCSU. Scholarship of teaching begins with a desire to know more about an important aspect of teaching or learning. Possibilities may include unique, creative, or original approaches to teaching methodologies with a focus on improving student learning. Once the aspect has been identified, a systematic study of the related bodies of knowledge informing it should follow and ultimately lead to implementation or application of this new knowledge to instructional practice. Dissemination of results and their contribution to the larger field of teaching and learning should be made via mentoring, peer review, presentation, or professional publication. " Scholarship of Teaching" was introduced in Scholarship Reconsidered (Boyer, 1990) as one of four forms of scholarship. Consistent with NGCSU's primary mission of teaching, the intent of the campus conversations is to: Help NGCSU professors understand the scholarship of teaching as one possible component of their work, and Provide a forum for discussing ideas related to instructional improvement. Scholarship of teaching does not replace or devalue other forms of scholarship at NGCSU. The Campus Conversations are designed to define and address issues related to scholarship of teaching. We invite other academic bodies to consider defining additional forms of scholarship.
Editor: Toni Bellon Department of Teacher Education NGCSU Dahlonega, GA 30597 Phone: (706) 864-1532 Fax: (706) 864-1886 E-mail: rdptl@ngcsu.edu Newsletter Design: Joe Bellon Communication Dept. Georgia State Univ. Web Design: Lori Cronan NGCSU