Unlocking SoTL’s Potential for Transformative Education

This proposed paper presentation explores the foundations of SoTL in order to excavate the potential for SoTL to support transformative education and critical pedagogy. The conceptualization of the commons, and re-conceptualization of the classroom as space for scholarly praxis, establishes moral and pedagogical imperatives for SoTL to participate in the promotion of social justice (Huber and Hutchings, 2005; Hutchings, 2002; Shulman, 2002; and Huber and Morreale, 2002). Thus, clearly, SoTL promotes concepts of social justice, inclusion of diverse perspectives and critical dimensions of pedagogy. For this reason, SoTL may be (or become) a vehicle for “transformative education” (hooks, 1994). This paper seeks to unlock SoTL’s potential for transformative education (Gilpin & Liston, 2009) through exploration of the unique perspective offered through development of pedagogical innovations supported through the commons. This paper will take on the question: “How can SoTL be used to make education a transformative experience for all learners and teachers?” To address this question, this presentation will explicate the characteristics and value base common to SoTL, transformative education and critical pedagogy, focusing on the ways in which these three threads can be braided together to support social justice through the commons, supporting learning and teaching