What is a SOTL Author? A Conceptual Framework for Navigating Questions of Authorship

There is mounting evidence of a paradigm shift in terms of how authorship is enabled, embodied, and enacted in contemporary academic scholarship. In this interactive session, we argue that this critical historical juncture provides an auspicious occasion for scholars of teaching and learning (SoTL) to (re-) consider ways in which authorship practice(s) can be aligned with the values that have come to characterize the field. In the session, participants will explore this proposed re-alignment through an evidence-based conceptual framework focused on SoTL authors as cross-translational communicators, collaborative practitioners, community stewards, ethical practitioners, and inclusive advocates.

Rather than following long-standing practices developed in and for academic disciplines, we further suggest future directions for members of the SoTL community to take an active role in shaping what it means to be an author and how we conceptualize authorship in an un-disciplined space. Participants will engage with a range of new practices, from movie-style credits to SoTL “family” names, that have the potential to expand the values at the core of SoTL authorship. In other words, to paraphrase Michel Foucault’s well-known essay, in this session, we invite you to join us for an exploration of the question, what is a SoTL author? And why and how does that matter (in theory and in practice)?

*Participants will be provided with an electronic resource folder containing tools and resources for navigating current academic authorship practices.

Behari-Leak, Kasturi. “Toward a Borderless, Decolonized, Socially Just, and Inclusive Scholarship of Teaching and Learning,” Teaching & Learning Inquiry 8, no. 1.

Chick, Nancy L., Christopher Ostrowdun, Sophia Abbot, Lucy Mercer-Mapstone, and Krista Grensavitch. 2021. “Naming Is Power: Citation Practices in SoTL.” Teaching & Learning Inquiry 9 (2).

Maggio, Lauren A, Anthony R Artino, Christopher J Watling, Erik W Driessen, and Bridget C O’Brien. 2019. “Exploring Researchers’ Perspectives on Authorship Decision Making.” Medical Education 53 (12): 1253–62.

Maurer, Trent. 2017. “Guidelines for Authorship Credit, Order, and Co-Inquirer Learning in Collaborative Faculty-Student SoTL Projects.” Teaching & Learning Inquiry 5 (1).