Two Elon faculty members, George Talbert and Sarah Bunnell, were invited to deliver an international keynote on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, sharing how evidence-based inquiry into teaching and student learning can transform both individual practice and institutional culture.
Two Elon faculty members recently shared their expertise in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) with a global audience, delivering a keynote for the SoTL in Business Education Special Interest Group on June 17.
Sarah Bunnell, director of Elon’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and associate professor of psychology, and George Talbert, assistant professor of marketing and sales, co-presented “The Power of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for Individual and Institutional Transformation, in Business Schools and Beyond.” The online session marked the group’s second community event and drew educators from across Europe and beyond.
Bunnell opened by tracing SoTL’s roots to Ernest Boyer’s influential 1990 framework, which expanded the definition of scholarship to include systematic study of student learning. She then expanded on the field’s history to include later contributions from scholars like Elon’s Peter Felten, assistant provost for teaching and learning, executive director of the Center for Engaged Learning, and professor of history, whose work has helped establish public dissemination, peer review and collaboration as foundational principles of SoTL practice.
Talbert then offered a personal lens, reflecting on his own transition from a senior marketing and sales career into higher education and how engaging with SoTL has reshaped his approach to teaching and student learning. Rather than focusing solely on content delivery and student satisfaction, he described moving toward deeper questions about how students’ thinking develops and whether his teaching approaches achieve their intended learning outcomes. This personal insight was highlighted by event organizers as a “powerful example of how SoTL can transform individual practice”, and its accessibility to faculty across disciplines, not just educational researchers.
Bunnell and Talbert’s work is an example of meaningful collaboration between faculty across disciplines who center student learning, professional growth, and development of one’s teaching practice within their work. Their session is a meaningful contribution to the growing international dialogue about SoTL’s role in higher education, which Elon is increasingly recognized as leading. The invitation for the keynote reflects the continued recognition of Elon’s leadership in undergraduate teaching and educational development on the global stage. Following the session, Bunnell and Talbert were invited to remain engaged with the international SoTL community, with plans to continue building on the conversation in future collaborations.