Reality and Poten-al: Expanding
the Circle of Scholars of Learning
Barbara Cambridge & Darren Cambridge
Innova-ons in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at
Liberal Arts Colleges
Crawfordsville, IN
March 6, 2009

Two Direc-ons of Expansion
Kinds of scholarship about learning
Meanings of learning

Expanding Scholarship About Learning
• Scholarship of Discovery
• Transla-onal Research
• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning – Individual
• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning – Collabora-ve
• Par-cipatory Scholarship of Learning

Changing Rela-onship to Learners
Discovery About learners
Transla-onal For learners
Teaching and Learning With learners
Par-cipatory Through learning

Scholarship of Discovery
• American Educa-onal Research Associa-on
(AERA) as epicenter
• Kris Guiterrez, new president and new
perspec-ve

Transla-onal Research
• Bench to Bedside
• Lab to Classroom

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
• Individual
– Pew Scholars
• Collabora-ve
– CASTL Scholars and Campus Program
• Interdisciplinary
• Ins-tu-onal change
– Inter/Na-onal Coali-on for Electronic PorVolio
Research
• Broader concep-on of learning
• Broader par-cipa-on of educators

Connected Learning
• 39% of Internet users read • Web 2.0 technology
blogs “converts the act of crea-ng
content into a social and
• 8% write blogs
connected act”
• 54% of those authors have –Steven Downes
never published their
wri-ng anywhere else
• 35% of adults have a social • Messing around
network profile
• Geeking out
• 65% of teens do
• Building social capital
• 94% of college students are
on Facebook
• Millions of users and billions
of page views each day

Par-cipatory Learning
Par-cipatory learning includes ways in which
new technologies enable learners (of any age)
to contribute in diverse ways to individual and
shared learning goals … Par-cipatory learners
come together to aggregate their ideas and
experiences in a way that makes the whole
ul-mately greater than the sum of the parts.
−MacArthur Founda-on Digital Media and Learning Compe--on

Par-cipatory Scholarship
Par-cipatory scholarship includes ways in
which new technologies enable scholars (of
any age) to contribute in diverse ways to
individual and shared learning goals …
Par-cipatory scholars come together to
aggregate their ideas and experiences in a way
that makes the whole ul-mately greater than
the sum of the parts.

Par-cipatory Scholarship of Learning
Par-cipatory scholarship of learning includes
ways in which new technologies enable
learner‐scholars (of any age) to contribute in
diverse ways to individual and shared learning
goals … Par-cipatory learner‐scholars come
together to aggregate their ideas and
experiences in a way that makes the whole
ul-mately greater than the sum of the parts.

The Na-onal Gallery of Wri-ng features
wri-ng
• in all genres
• for any purpose occasion or audience
• judged important by any writer who posts
• contributed by individuals and through
groups

Who Are the Learner Scholars?
• Those who post
– Occasion, purpose, and audience
• Those who respond
– Reflec-on and analysis
• Those who do designed inquiries
– Ques-ons demanding different kinds of
scholarship

Expanding the Meaning of Learning
1990 Scholarship of Teaching
Late 1990s Scholarship of Teaching and
Learning
Today Scholarship of Teaching and
Learning

Three curricula
Kathleen Yancey, Reflec1on in the Wri1ng Classroom

Students as Scholars
• Western Washington University
– Seminars for professional development credit for
faculty and academic credit for students
– Co‐produced descrip-ons of scholarship of
teaching and learning
• Elon University
– Projects in the field = funding
– Co‐authored products of scholarship

George Mason Leadership PorVolio
• Leadership
development as a
general educa-on
outcome
• Learning that is
distributed and
integrated
• Social change theory
of leadership from
student affairs

Par-cipa-on in Scholarship
Students • Were “privileged informants on their own
learning”
• Composed porVolio that presented a scholarly
representa-on of their leadership iden-ty
Student affairs • Provided theore-cal framework
educators • Brought tacit knowledge of student development
to coding and interpreta-on of data
Faculty members • Brought classroom experience and disciplinary
knowledge to coding and interpreta-on of data
• Made connec-ons to disciplinary and scholarship
of teaching and learning literature

Expanding Learning Beyond Students
• Three curricula provide a broader
understanding of the learning of individual
learners
• Learning is lifelong
• Learning is situated and collec-ve
• What is the scope of the learning colleges
and universi4es are responsible for
cul4va4ng?

Augusta Community Literacy

Kinds of Scholarship of Learning
Discovery Our ques-on Us Disciplinary
knowledge
Transla-onal Our ques-on for Us Disciplinary
them knowledge that
informs local
prac-ce
Teaching and Their ques-on Teachers and Disciplinary
Learning learners in the knowledge that
community informs prac-ce
Par-cipa-on Emergent ques-ons Diverse groups of Network of people
community and texts that
members and us produces
knowledge

Augusta Community PorVolio
• Groups involved in
literacy prac-ces across
community
• Mul-ple representa-ons
of individual and
community history,
iden-ty, and inten-ons
• Collec-ve reflec-ve
events
• Individual contribu-ons
• Researchers as members
of each team

We live in a -me where we all need to relax a
liole and accept the fact that we live in one of the
world’s great, epistemic eras of communica-on
and informa-on and intellectual transforma-on.
We cannot stop it. And I, for one, wouldn’t want
to. The best we can do, as true intellectuals, is for
each of us to work to understand how what we
are doing best capitalizes upon, helps us all to
understand, and in other ways appreciates the
fact that we live in one of the most exci-ng and
challenging ages in recent human history.
Cathy Davidson, interviewed by Randy Bass