Developing Learning Environments: Creativity, Motivation and Collaboration in Higher Education

Epilogue: Scholarship of teaching and learning in progress

:฀Epilogue :฀Scholarship฀of฀teaching฀and฀ learning฀in฀progress฀ Ora Kwo PROCESSES฀OF฀SCHOLARLY฀WRITING฀ This volume is the product of a rigorous selection process that involve d blind multiple reviews of the full texts of 59 papers out of 74 conferenc e presentations. The selected papers have raised important issues that fi t coherently in a book on the theme of developing learning environments. Although many worthwhile papers were inevitably left out, the editorial work remained challengin g in order t o ensure that the selected paper s communicated succinctl y as discourse in scholarship o f teaching an d learning. The submissions varied in the extent t o which curricula an d pedagogy wer e presente d an d illustrated , rangin g fro m detaile d descriptions to bare outlines. This variation required further interaction s between th e editors and authors, beginning with a meeting in Octobe r 2001 during which we reached a reasonable consensus. The book is rooted i n contemporar y loca l issues, yet transcend s them to highlight the significance of scholarship of teaching and learning for wider readers including teachers, managers, and policy-makers. The 314฀Ora ฀Kwo฀ primary focus, however, is on teachers. As frontline practitioners, authors can communicate more authentically t o teachers, in an optimistic ton e without bein g naive . Th e contributor s t o thi s book believe tha t i t i s possible to work around and within the constraints that affect th e work of teacher s an d t o se e th e potentia l fo r teacher s t o develo p th e environments and cultures in which they work. Together, the chapter s signify scholarl y wor k an d contribut e t o a developin g discours e o n scholarship o f teaching an d learning . Rathe r tha n advocating certai n approaches fro m successfu l experiences , the book generates ideas fo r research into teaching and learning . During th e yea r whic h followe d th e conference, th e editor s an d authors wer e involved i n furthe r wor k o n scholarly writing fo r mor e effective communicatio n wit h th e intende d communitie s o f teacher learners . Authors were invited to consider how their contributions stood in th e book , ho w the y coul d reac h peer s o f differen t disciplinar y backgrounds, an d ho w th e boo k coul d stan d significantl y i n th e developing professional discours e fo r highe r education . Th e primar y concerns for editorial communications were to identify crucia l theme s for each paper and t o probe for further depth s that had not emerged as clearly as intended. As rigorous revisions were expected to reach readers, editors and authors entered further discussions on e-mail, by telephone, and through meetings. The rewards came with products that considerably exceed the calibre reached at the initial conference presentations, showing the vital significance o f pee r discours e i n th e processe s o f scholarl y writing. After reviewing the chapters, different reader s may find variou s forms of connection with the authors. Collectively, it is time to conclude our venture with recognition o f the commitment t o and celebration of scholarship of teaching and learning . COMMITMENT฀TO฀ADDRESS฀ENVIRONMENTAL฀CHALLENGES฀ Amid curren t change s fo r universities , academic s ar e expecte d t o reinforce th e qualit y o f teachin g an d learnin g whil e struggling wit h dilemmas on risks with innovations. Such struggles can be lonely in the university tradition of working in isolation. Individually, teachers may Epilogue฀ query what can be done if there is a mismatch of expectations betwee n teachers and students, if students are resistant to innovation, and if the environment i s not conduciv e t o risk-taking an d mutual support . A s committed teachers, the contributors t o this book presented scenario s of how quality issues regarding teaching and learning are being addressed in the context of rapid expansion of higher education , as students ar e no longe r a s highly selected a s before. Ou r learnin g environment s i n various tertiary institutions, as shown in...