The scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) is one of four traditionally defined domains of research. Academics have three fundamental responsibilities: teaching, scholarship, and community engagement. They are expected to maintain competence in all three areas within the scope of their individual allocation of effort toward each responsibility. Although policies related to academic promotion vary across institutions, there is a general expectation that academics grow in their expertise and excel in at least one of these areas. In the area of scholarship, academics are required to stay abreast of emerging knowledge in their area of research so that they can advance the field through well-informed inquiry and disseminated work. This most often applies to more discipline-specific research, and, in many institutions, less emphasis may be placed on academic members keeping current in the area of teaching and learning.

scholarship of teaching and learning, research, scholarly teaching, academics