Comparing DBER with Scholarship of Teaching of Learning (SoTL)
Chemistry education research is a branch of a larger category of discipline-based education research (DBER). This means that you have an understanding of your discipline (e.g. chemistry) as well as the underpinnings of educational research methods to investigate and explore student understandings of chemistry phenomena. Our research can cover quantitative diagnostic studies about how students understand a specific phenomena, to qualitative relational studies exploring the role of identity and the student experiences of learning chemistry. As such we tend to use skills and research methods often found in other disciplines such as maths, psychology, bibliometrics, education and anthropology.
DBER
The goal of DBER is to generate and test theory, and produce generalizable findings focused on teaching, learning, and ways of thinking. In our case this is Chemistry. DBER can also include investigations into the development and nature of expertise in a discipline as well as strategies for making a discipline more inclusive. While DBER may differ slightly between disciplines, common to all is that researchers systematically gather data that leads to knowledge for improved teaching and student learning. The findings should be broadly applicable beyond a single course or instructional context.
SoTL
The goal of SoTL is to improve one’s own teaching practice through innovations in pedagogy and curriculum and to serve as a model for others. SoTL studies are typically descriptive, and focus on innovations that addresses learning goals. Scholars systematically gather data that lead to self-reflection, improved teaching practices, and improved student learning. SoTL studies are often specific to a course and the instructor’s personal context, but conclusions must be supported by evidence and have broader applications so as to serve as a potential model for other instructors and at other institutions.