The Contribution of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning through Self-reflection and Knowledge Sharing

Abstract

A people-centred approach placing value on humanity is at the core of numerous democratic-led governments, and educational institutions to solve socio-economic and environmental challenges facing civilisation. This paper explored the contribution of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) in emphasising reflection and theories to enable people to improve teaching and learning and to reinforce the application of logic when addressing barriers confronting humanity. The purpose of this study was to examine the relevance of SoTL platforms using reflection and theories to improve the quality of teaching and learning by promoting intellectual and ethical virtues in human interactions. Qualitative data was generated from literature and a purposively sampled respondent group of twelve lecturers in one of the South African universities. Interviews were conducted by using an interview schedule questionnaire whilst data collected was categorised and analysed into themes. The findings revealed that SoTL encourages knowledge sharing and inspires academics to reflect on their practice by answering some of the questions that hinder effective teaching and learning and its snowball effect on improved human interactions in general. Answering complex questions relating to teaching and learning requires all parties beyond borders to share ideas, reflect, think critically, engage in research, and apply relevant theories that embed values that inform human interactions. The implication is that SoTL discourse can eliminate the silo and irrational ways of solving problems by employing inquiry and critical reflective strategies to stimulate reasoning and restore values that position humanity at the centre of governments and all human interactions. Therefore, SoTL approaches can foster intellectual decisions that can sustain the upholding of ethics and intellectual virtues and advance human dignity. Keywords: Humanity, Reflection, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Theories