The SoTL Journal Club is open to anyone with an interest in education, whether you are an experienced teacher, just starting out, or working in an educational support role. No prior knowledge of SoTL, educational research, or other evidence-informed approaches to teaching is required or expected. All that is needed is curiosity and a willingness to reflect together on teaching and learning. We particularly aim to bring together colleagues from different disciplines, as we believe diverse perspectives make the discussions richer and more inspiring.

For this session we particularly welcome teachers who want to experiment with new ways of involving students in shaping their learning experience. If you are interested in making small but meaningful changes to your teaching, this session is for you!

Next up

Event		SoTL Journal Club – What Makes Teaching Work? Exploring Student Engagement and Classroom Equity
Date & time		Tuesday 3rd of February, 12.00 – 13.00 uur
Location		Roeterseiland Campus, JKTB.24
Language		English
Speakers		René Glastra van Loon and Svenne Groeneweg
Preparation		Read Schelfhout et al. (2007) on the four dimensions of powerful learning environments and choose one practice from Tanner’s (2013) list to examine in depth. Write a brief reflection on how this practice relates to your teaching and/or SoTL work, indicating which Schelfhout et al. dimensions it addresses and any tensions or trade‑offs for a balanced learning environment.

Join the next session

Details of next session

How can small, concrete teaching practices make a meaningful difference in students’ learning experiences? And how can we study their impact in a systematic SoTL way? In this session, we bring together two complementary perspectives. Tanner (2013) offers an accessible, practice-oriented repertoire of 21 concrete, classroom-tested strategies for promoting student engagement and equity. These practical entry points are complemented by Schelfhout et al. (2007), who present a theoretically grounded and empirically validated framework for creating powerful learning environments. By combining these two pieces, the session invites participants to move from teaching strategies to underlying mechanisms, and to explore how everyday classroom practices can be turned into meaningful SoTL objects for research, reflection, and educational design.

Programme

Materials

Schelfhout, W., Dochy, F., Janssens, S., Struyven, K., & Gielen, S. (2006). Towards an equilibrium model for creating powerful learning environments. Validation of a questionnaire on creating powerful learning environments during teacher training internships. European Journal of Teacher Education, 29(4), 471–503. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619760600944787

Tanner, K. D. (2013). Structure Matters: Twenty-One Teaching Strategies to Promote Student Engagement and Cultivate Classroom Equity. CBE Life Sciences Education, 12(3), 322–331. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.13-06-0115

Preparation

Read the article of Schelfhout et al. (2007) and focus on the four main dimensions for creating powerful learning environments.
Skim Tanner (2013)’s full list of practices, and select one practice to read more closely.
Prepare a short reflection on your chosen Tanner practice in relation to your own teaching context and/or SoTL work.
Consider which dimension(s) of Schelfhout et al. (2007) this practice primarily addresses, and reflect on possible tensions or trade-offs in achieving a balanced learning environment.

Interested?

Don’t wait for too long with registration, as the session has an attendance limit. Then, you will be sure of having a spot on the 3rd of February.

I am interested!

Learning Objectives of the SoTL Journal Club

Our ultimate goal is enhancing education! By joining the SoTL journal club, you can deepen your understanding of teaching and learning, explore new perspectives and approaches, and connect with other colleagues who are passionate about education. Our discussions are designed to spark ideas that you can apply directly in your own practice or use as inspiration for future projects.

For who?

The SoTL journal club is open to anyone with an interest in education –whether you are an experienced teacher, just starting out, or working in an educational support role. No prior knowledge of SoTL, educational research, or other evidence-informed approaches to teaching is required or expected. All that is needed is curiosity and a willingness to reflect together on teaching and learning. We particularly aim to bring together colleagues from different disciplines, as we believe diverse perspectives make the discussions richer and more inspiring.

For this session we particularly welcome teachers who want to explore how they can create powerful learning environments. If you are interested in making small but meaningful changes to your teaching, this session is for you!

By who?

The Journal Club is organized by René Glastra van Loon and Svenne Groeneweg, co-coordinators of the Special Interest Group SoTL.

René works as a didactical advisor and trainer at the Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC). He specializes in fostering an inquiry-based attitude among teachers and is a former participant of the Education Research Fellows program, which supports UvA faculty in setting up and conducting their own SoTL projects.

Svenne focuses on SoTL both in her PhD research and in her work at the TLC. Her research centers on supporting university teachers in systematically reflecting on and improving their educational practices, as well as studying the impact and development of SoTL initiatives more broadly. Through her work at the TLC she is also involved in the design and organization of the Education Research Fellows program.