MTSU Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

The concept of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is variously defined as teaching as scholarly work, evidence-based methods to study effective teaching and student learning, and systematic research and dissemination about teaching and learning. This can include reports on particular classes (e.g., something that worked, qualitative or quantitative assessments of changes); reflective essays, summaries, or integrations of scholarship on teaching; comparisons of courses or student change across time; and more formal research (experimental designs, systematic literature reviews, meta-analyses). This page presents recent examples of SoTL publications by MTSU faculty members, including information about or links to the articles as well as contact information for the first (or MTSU) authors.

If you have a SoTL publication that you would like listed on our website, please forward it to us!

SoTL Publications by Year

2013 - 2014

Otter, R. R., Seipel, S., Graeff, T., Alexander, B., Boraiko, C., Gray, J., Petersen, K., & Sadler, K. (2013). Comparing student and faculty perceptions of online and traditional courses. Internet and Higher Education, 19, 27-35.
In this article, participants in an MTSU SoTL faculty learning community surveyed students and faculty. Significant findings showed that compared to faculty perceptions, students tend to see online courses as more self-directed and believe that online students must be more willing to teach themselves. Students in online courses feel more disconnected from professors and fellow students than professors believe them to be. In addition, faculty tend to see the role of the professor as more critical to the success of online courses than students do.

Dye, J., Cheatham, T., Rowell, R., Barlow, A., & Carlton, R. F. (2013). The impact of modeling instruction within the inverted curriculum on student achievement in science. Electronic Journal of Science Education, 17 (2), 1-19.
In this paper, the authors study the impact of two teaching strategies (inverting the order of the science courses and using modeling instruction as the teaching pedagogy) on student achievement in high school science as measured by the ACT science subscore. Data for eight graduating high school classes were used for this in situ study as the school transitioned from a traditional science curriculum to an "inverted curriculum" to an "inverted curriculum with modeling instruction." Improvements in ACT science scores were statistically significant.

Brinthaupt, T. M. (2013). Should schools be in the business of enhancing student self-perceptions? In K. Roney & R. P. Lipka (Eds.), Middle grades curriculum: Voices and visions of the self-enhancing school (pp. 1-16). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
In this chapter, the author addresses questions about whether it should be part of the school's purpose to help students to enhance their self-perceptions and clarify their values and whether it is, in any way, the school's job to help students' to clarify their self-understanding. Research evidence is reviewed with regard to the wisdom, necessity, and/or effectiveness of enhancing student self-perceptions.

Calder, J. E., & Brinthaupt, T. M. (2013). The effects on teachers and students of using vague and specific learning constructs to enhance self-perceptions. In K. Roney & R. P. Lipka (Eds.), Middle grades curriculum: Voices and visions of the self-enhancing school (pp. 227-240). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
In this chapter, the authors focus on vague and specific learning constructs as they relate to the current school climate being dominated by state and federal legislation, including No Child Left Behind (NCLB), state standards, and state-mandated assessments. In this context, they argue that vague overall learning constructs can have enhancing features while specific learning constructs can be debilitating in terms of student self-perceptions.

Powell, G. M., Johnson, C. W., James, J. J., & Dunlap, R. (2013). Four courses within a discipline: UGA Unified Core. Scholé. 28(1), 44-53.
In this paper, the authors discuss the ways in which they managed the classroom culture as well as the logistics of integrating what had previously been separate courses into a unified, organic mega-course, which they called The Integrated Core. Four courses are taught as one course to the juniors coming into the Recreation and Leisure Studies major.

Quinn, T. J., & Rai, S. (2013). Variation of parameters in differential equations - A variation in making sense of variation of parameters. Problems, Resources and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies (PRIMUS), 23(1):25-44.
In this paper, the authors provide information for instructors teaching a first course in undergraduate differential questions, where the students already have covered first-order linear equations and second-order homogeneous linear equations. They provide a variation to the standard textbook approach to variation of parameters, intended to help students find their way toward a key insight: "Aha! Let's try ..." They point to several reasons why it can be important for students to learn variation of parameters.

Boyer, S. L., Edmondson, D. R., Artis, A. B., & Fleming, D. (2014). Self-directed learning: A tool for lifelong learning. Journal of Marketing Education, 36(1), 20-32. In this paper, the authors report the results of a meta-analytic review of self-directed learning (SDL) research over 30 years, five countries, and across multiple academic disciplines, in order to explore its relationships with five key nomologically-related constructs for effective workplace learning. The meta-analysis revealed positive relationships between SDL and internal locus of control, motivation, performance, self-efficacy, and support. The use of an actual SDL project in an undergraduate sales management course and an MBA selling and sales management course is used to provide supporting evidence and practical advice for educators seeking to use SDL to promote lifelong learning skills in students.

Fisher, L. S., Gardner, J. G., Brinthaupt, T. M., & Raffo, D. M. (2014). Conditional release of course materials: Assessing best practice recommendations. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 10(2), 228-239.
The authors present data from several courses that utilized conditional release tools. The results provided strong support for several of our best practice recommendations from the Gardner et al. (2011) article. The 2014 Horizon Report, an annual publication on the key trends in educational technology, lists learning analytics and adaptive learning as important long-range developments. Our work on conditional release will contribute to the research and practice literature on these trends.

Brinthaupt, T. M., Clayton, M. A., Draude, B. J., & Calahan, P. T. (2014). How should I offer this course? The Course Delivery Decision Model (CDDM). Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 10(2), 326-336.
This paper provides the first comprehensive model to guide course developers in making decisions about how to best deliver their courses. The authors propose a conceptual model for making delivery mode decisions that best optimize one's student learning outcomes. The model guides developers through a strategic and systematic evaluation of how their course content, activities, and assessments can be best delivered, among the options of fully online, hybrid/blended, or traditional face-to-face.

Abolins, M.J. (2014). Undergraduates discovering folds in "flat" strata: An unusual undergraduate geology field methods course.  Journal of Geoscience Education, 62.
In this paper, the author describes undergraduates learning to measure, map, and interpret bedding plane attitudes during a semester-long geology field methods course in a field area where strata dip less than 9 degrees.  Students reproduced faculty dip directions in all 5 structural domains and mean bedding plane attitudes in 4 of 5 structural domains. The mean student evaluation score was 4.1 on a 5 point scale and all seven evaluation category means were well within one standard deviation of departmental means. 

Gilbert, J. A., & Raffo, D. (2014). Inspiring the civil revolution: The role of bullying education and experiential learning. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching. Students often learn better from listening to their peers. In this article, the authors describe the collaboration between an experiential learning management class and a local high school to educate on the topic of bullying. Lessons learned and the theoretical basis for civility outreach are shared.

Phillips, M. E., & Graeff, T. (2014). Using an in-class simulation in the first accounting class: Moving from surface to deep learning. Journal of Education for Business, 89: 241-247.
The authors designed an in-class simulation as an intervention to move students toward deep learning and away from surface learning. The simulation consists of buying and selling merchandise and accounting for transactions. The simulation is an effective tool in building student confidence, creating a more positive attitude toward accounting, and sustaining a deeper understanding of accounting principles.

Henderson, R. G. (2014). The iPad Classroom Experience:  Implications for Teaching and Learning. In J. A. Chambers (Ed.), Selected papers from the 25th International Conference on College Teaching and Learning (pp. 98-111). Jacksonville, FL US: Florida Community College at Jacksonville.
Technology has played a vital role in higher education in recent years. Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets have become ubiquitpus in our global society. According to the 2012 NMC Horizon Report, mobile applications and tablet computing were expected to be adopted in higher education within the next year or less. The purpose of the study was to determine perceptions of Jones College of Business (JCOB) business students regarding iPad technology in the classroom. The study also helped to identify typical activities of students using the devices in the classroom as well as outside of the classroom.

2011 - 2012

Gilbert, J. A., & Flores-Zambada, R. (2011). Development and implementation of a "blended" teaching course environment. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 7, 244-261.
In this paper, the authors describe activities from a course that included both online and on-ground components. The Socratic method of teaching can now be effectively accomplished in an online discussion forum, a synchronous chat session, virtual environments, or in a wiki format. All of these innovative technologies are part of an instructor's teaching toolkit, and his or her arsenal for transforming course delivery. The authors describe the development and implementation of a "blended teaching" course. Blended teaching is an attempt to coalesce all of the best elements of online and on-ground instruction into a "super-hybrid" of sorts, one that delivers a rich skill set and a valuable educational experience to students.

Brinthaupt, T. M., Fisher, L. S., Gardner, J. G., Raffo, D. M., & Woodard, J. B. (2011). What the best online teachers should do. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 7, 515-524.
In this article, an MTSU E-learning Pedagogy Faculty Learning Community took Ken Bain's (2004) book What the Best College Teachers Do and extended his findings and arguments to the realm of online teaching. Bain did not mention online teaching in his book.

Adams, C. L., Rust, D. Z., & Brinthaupt, T. M. (2011). Evolution of a peer review and evaluation program for online course development. In J. E. Miller & J. E. Groccia (Eds.), To improve the academy: Resources for faculty, instructional, and organizational development (Vol. 29, pp. 173-186), San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.
In this article, the authors discussed the development, implementation, and evaluation of the MTSU Online Faculty Mentoring program, administered through the University College.

Gardner, J. G., Fisher, L. S., Raffo, D. M., & Brinthaupt, T. M. (2011). Best practices for using conditional release in online classes. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 8(10), 3-17.
This article is the first published account of how to use the selective or conditional release tools available through learning management systems such as D2L. The authors identified and described several best practice recommendations for the use of this tool based on case studies of instructors who had employed it.

Postlethwait, A. (2012).  Service Learning in an Undergraduate Social Work Research Course.  Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 32, 243-256.
In this paper, the author examined student experiences (n = 111) in an undergraduate social work (BSW) research seminar in which a service learning (SL) project was the primary focus. Student groups (of 6-7 members) worked with local agencies to develop a research plan for the agency. Results showed that students found the SL project to be a positive experience. The SL outcomes resulted in a greater appreciation of research, including a greater interest in and comfort with conducting research among the students.

Kwon, H. J., & Brinthaupt, T. M. (2012). Teaching the social aspects of clothing in an online course. International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, 5(2), 129-134.
In this paper, the authors collected evaluative data from a newly developed online course to demonstrate that it was an effective way to teach this content.

Edmondson, D. R., Boyer, S. L., & Artis, A. B. (2012). Self-directed learning: A meta-analytic review of adult learning constructs. International Journal of Education Research, 7(1), 40-48.
In this paper, the authors report the results of a meta-analytic study examining the relationship between self-directed learning and constructs that have received research attention in the education domain. Results show that self-directed learning is significantly and positively related to academic performance, future aspiration, creativity, curiosity, and life satisfaction. These results show that self-directed learning is an important construct and should be implemented into business education. \

Williams, A., & Clark, L. M. (2012). Poor study skills and untapped resources: A study of entry-level mathematics students' study habits. Journal of Studies in Education, 2(2), online. In this paper, the authors examined student study habits. They interviewed prescribed-math students in several courses. The interview questions covered how students studied and what resources they used.

2009 - 2010

Brinthaupt, T. M., Clayton, M. A, & Draude, B. J. (2009). Barriers to and strategies for faculty integration of IT. In P. Rogers, G. Berg, J. Boettcher, C. Howard, L. Justice, & K Schenk (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Distance Learning (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 138-145). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
In this article, the authors reviewed and summarized many of the major barriers that faculty encounter when trying to integrate technology into their teaching, as well as major ways that these barriers can be addressed and overcome.

Draude, B. J., Clayton, M. A., & Brinthaupt, T. M. (2009). "We're changing again? No way!" A case study of a course management system transition. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 5, 131-137.
In this paper, the authors presented a case study of the MTSU campus's transition to D2L, including the ways that they planned, implemented, and obtained faculty feedback about that process.

Ivancevich, J. M., Gilbert, J. A., & Konopaske, R.  (2009). Facilitating and studying dialogue in select online courses. Journal of Management Education, 33, 196-218. 
Dialogue is arguably one of the most significant elements of learning in higher education. The premise of this article is that online instructors can creatively facilitate dialogue for effectively teaching online management courses. In this article, the authors present a dialogue-focused framework for addressing significant behavioral, structural, and technological elements that involve the development and delivery of knowledge and application use (KAU) online management course content. Specifically, the proposed framework and propositions suggest how various antecedents and moderators influence the use of dialogue resources, technology, and student engagement in KAU-type management courses.

Boraiko, C., & Brinthaupt, T. M. (2010). Teaching a safety class with a hybrid format: A case study. Journal of Safety Health and Environmental Research, 6(3).
In this paper, the authors collected evaluative data from a newly developed hybrid course to demonstrate that it was an effective way to teach this content.

Smith, C. F. (2010). Corrections in the classroom: A recruiting tool. Corrections Today, 72(5), 36-39.
In this paper, the author presents results from a student survey to the readers of a journal for Corrections professionals. The focus of the article was on strategies for teaching the topic of Corrections. Topics included student perceptions of the field of Corrections as a profession.

Brinthaupt, T. M. (2010). Development and implementation of an online careers seminar in psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 37, 58-62.
In this article, the author described the development, implementation, and assessment of the online course for psychology career advising. Advising courses have become increasingly popular in psychology, and this paper was the first to describe how such courses can be taught online.

Sheehan-Smith, L. M., & Brinthaupt, T. M. (2010). Using service-learning to teach health coaching. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 14(2), 66-71.
In this paper, the authors describe the use of a service-learning project to teach health coaching during a medical nutrition therapy course. Students (N=16) served as coaches for a 4-month program called Discovering Healthy Families (DHF). Evaluation of the project indicated benefits for both students and DHF participants. The students' knowledge of coaching was higher at the end of the program and DHF participants were very satisfied with their coaches.

2007 - 2008

Clayton, M.A., Brinthaupt, T. M., & Draude, B. J. (2008). Serving students by helping faculty: Encouraging instructional technology integration. Academic Leader, 24(3), 1,6.
In this article, the authors presented an overview of best practices for academic leaders to work with faculty on more effectively integrating instructional technologies into their teaching.

Heath, R. A.  2008. Tax Software versus Paper Return: The Effect of a Computerized Decision Aid on Cognitive Effort and Student Learning. Advances in Accounting Education, 9, 57-76.
This study examines the effect of using a computerized decision aid on student cognitive effort and learning in the first tax course. Students prepared a 1040 tax return using either paper or tax software. Students using paper forms reported higher levels of cognitive effort than did students using tax software. Cognitive effort, in turn, was associated with higher levels of (i.e., inferential) learning.

Brinthaupt, T. M., Pilati, M., & King, B. R. (2008). Psychology teaching resources in the MERLOT digital learning objects catalog. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 35, 240-245.
In this article, the members of the MERLOT Psychology Editorial Board presented an overview of the digital learning objects repository and examples of highly-evaluated psychology materials.

Gilbert, J. A. (2008). Development of an Advanced Classroom Technology Laboratory: An "Incubator" for Next Generation Learning. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 4(1), 51-56.
In this paper, the author explains the history of an Advanced Computer Technology (ACT) laboratory at Middle Tennessee State University Honors College. The ACT laboratory serves as an incubator classroom, and as a testing and experimental learning environment for faculty and students. Interviews with four administrators involved with the planning and procurement of the room (along with five faculty who had actual experience in teaching with the new equipment) are provided. This article details the history of the room's inception, along with a list of advantages and suggestions for improvement from faculty who have taught classes in this space.

Quinn, T. J., & Rai, S. (2008). Discovering the Laplace transform in undergraduate differential equations. Problems, Resources and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies (PRIMUS), 18(4), July, 2008, 309-324.
In this paper, the authors note that the Laplace Transform is an object of fundamental importance in pure and applied mathematics. In addition, it has special pedagogical value in that it can provide a natural and concrete setting for a student to begin thinking about the modern concepts of operator and functional. Most undergraduate textbooks, however, merely define the transform, and go on to properties and applications. The present article is intended to help students discover the Laplace Transform for themselves.

Rambo-Igney, B. C., & Brinthaupt, T. M. (2008). Best practices of college teaching connect with hybrid online instruction in counselor education. Journal of Technology in Counseling, 5(1), 1-15.
In this paper, the authors presented a case study of a hybrid delivery counselor education course, including evaluative data on its effectiveness.