(7) Implementation and Benefits of a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Community

Objective : To describe the implementation and benefits of a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) community at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Pharmacy.

Methods: The SOTL community at VCU was formally established in October 2018. It began in-person with 10 faculty members who were interested in SOTL and has grown to include 22 faculty members. The SOTL group meets monthly, now on Zoom, with 3-13 members joining a given meeting. During each meeting “wins” are celebrated - manuscript revisions or submissions, abstract/poster submissions, invited presentations, grants received, and IRB submissions/approvals. Reminders of relevant SOTL deadlines such as abstracts and awards are also communicated. Feedback is provided for new and existing projects and ideas for future project ideas are generated based on current trends in academia. Based on the needs and interests of the group, a member of the group or an outside expert is invited to present on a SOTL topic, such as statistical analysis, keys to successful IRB submissions, formatting manuscripts for SOTL journals, or working with a writing coach.

Results: In the 4 years since its inception, the SOTL community group members have collaborated on projects that have produced 9 published manuscripts, 11 posters, and 2 national presentations. In addition to these direct results, members of the group have celebrated the publication of 28 manuscripts, 7 national presentations, 1 international presentation, and 35 poster abstracts. Two members have received the AACP Emerging Teaching Scholars Award.

Conclusions: A SOTL community has been a beneficial way to support each other's research and increase productivity at our school. Other institutions may wish to adopt a similar approach if interested in SOTL research.