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Doing the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Mathematics

Jacqueline M. Dewar and Curtis D. Bennett, editors
Publisher: 
Mathematical Association of America
Publication Date: 
2015
Number of Pages: 
210
Format: 
Paperback
Price: 
43.00
ISBN: 
9780883851937
Category: 
Anthology
[Reviewed by
Hannah Robbins
, on
05/22/2015
]

Doing the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Mathematics is intended for mathematics teachers interested in getting involved with the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). Its goal, at which it succeeds admirably, is to equip SoTL newcomers with the understanding and tools they need to join this growing research area. This book manages to offer a wealth of information to the new SoTL researcher while not overwhelming the reader. To this end, it has a very practical tone and hits exactly the appropriate level for its intended audience.

The first half of the book provides an excellent overview of SoTL as it relates to teaching mathematics. This includes a definition of what SoTL is and how it relates to classroom teaching, a history of SoTL’s development, and ideas and tools for designing a SoTL research project. Within these sections, the reader will find tips on framing and refining their research question, ways to collect and analyze both quantitative and qualitative data, advice on how to do a successful literature review, and even ideas for how a college administrator can evaluate SoTL work in the context of a tenure application! All of this is supported by many references which provide more details about the various topics.

The second half consists of fifteen examples of SoTL projects in mathematics. These cover a wide range of research questions, classroom levels (from calculus to statistics to liberal arts math), and SoTL processes, and are all nicely wrapped up in a final “synthesis” chapter at the end of the book.

Overall, this is a fantastic resource for a beginning SoTL researcher.


Hannah Robbins teaches math at Roanoke College in Virginia where she is just starting her first SoTL project.

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