Panel discussion overview

Are Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) and Higher Education (HE) research synonymous, overlapping, or fundamentally distinct? What misconceptions persist about their relationship, and how might these shape practice and policy?

This webinar invites a panel of experts to engage in conversation about the relationship between SoTL and HE research. Using both guiding questions and open dialogue, the panel will explore a range of perspectives on how these fields are conceptualised, operationalised, and valued across different institutional contexts. Key issues include the ways HE institutions define, relate, and distinguish SoTL and HE research, and the implications of these positions for academic workload models, research recognition, and sector-wide priorities.

This webinar and dialogue provide an entry point for unpacking the tensions, intersections, and strategic consequences of how the domains of SoTL and HE research are framed within contemporary higher education.

Bios of Panellists

	Professor Chi Baik, University of Melbourne Prof. Baik is a higher education researcher at the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne. Her work focuses on the student experience, mental wellbeing, and equity in higher education. Chi has led several national research projects and contributed to policy and institutional change across Australia. Her current work investigates factors influencing diverse students’ educational experiences and wellbeing, with a commitment to research that informs inclusive and evidence-based practices in universities.
	Professor Phillip (Phill) Dawson, Deakin University Prof. Dawson is Professor and Co-Director of the Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning (CRADLE) at Deakin University. His work focuses on improving assessment while addressing integrity challenges and emerging technologies. He is one of the top 10 higher education researchers in the world (according to ScholarGPS). In 2024, Phill co-edited the Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education special issue Challenging Cheating and published the provocative article Validity Matters More Than Cheating. His broader research spans assessment design and feedback. Beyond academia, Phill performs in and produces The Peer Revue, a comedy show celebrating the work of guest researchers from around the globe.
	Professor Paul Hanstedt, University of Minnesota Rochester Prof. Hanstedt is Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs at the University of Minnesota Rochester. An international expert in general education, curriculum design, and faculty development, he brings a SoTL lens to educational transformation. A former English professor and Fulbright Scholar, Paul has worked globally with universities to reform curricula and strengthen the student learning experience. He is the author of several books, including works on general education and meaningful assessment, and is committed to inclusive, future-facing approaches to higher education.
	Professor Nicolette Lee, La Trobe University Prof. Lee is a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) at La Trobe University, a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a National Senior Teaching Fellow. Commencing her teaching career in the UK as a design academic, Nicolette has held numerous senior academic positions leading academic quality and learning and teaching in Australian universities. At La Trobe, she led the development of renewed academic career and quality assurance frameworks with an emphasis on scholarly approaches to learning and teaching practice along with the University’s transformation of its learning, teaching and curriculum approach. She is a long-standing assessor and committee member for national program awards and is currently the Chair of the AAUT Teaching Awards Committee.

Professor Chi Baik, University of Melbourne
Prof. Baik is a higher education researcher at the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne. Her work focuses on the student experience, mental wellbeing, and equity in higher education. Chi has led several national research projects and contributed to policy and institutional change across Australia. Her current work investigates factors influencing diverse students’ educational experiences and wellbeing, with a commitment to research that informs inclusive and evidence-based practices in universities.

Professor Phillip (Phill) Dawson, Deakin University
Prof. Dawson is Professor and Co-Director of the Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning (CRADLE) at Deakin University. His work focuses on improving assessment while addressing integrity challenges and emerging technologies. He is one of the top 10 higher education researchers in the world (according to ScholarGPS).

In 2024, Phill co-edited the Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education special issue Challenging Cheating and published the provocative article Validity Matters More Than Cheating. His broader research spans assessment design and feedback.

Beyond academia, Phill performs in and produces The Peer Revue, a comedy show celebrating the work of guest researchers from around the globe.

Professor Paul Hanstedt, University of Minnesota Rochester
Prof. Hanstedt is Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs at the University of Minnesota Rochester. An international expert in general education, curriculum design, and faculty development, he brings a SoTL lens to educational transformation.

A former English professor and Fulbright Scholar, Paul has worked globally with universities to reform curricula and strengthen the student learning experience. He is the author of several books, including works on general education and meaningful assessment, and is committed to inclusive, future-facing approaches to higher education.

Professor Nicolette Lee, La Trobe University
Prof. Lee is a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) at La Trobe University, a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a National Senior Teaching Fellow.

Commencing her teaching career in the UK as a design academic, Nicolette has held numerous senior academic positions leading academic quality and learning and teaching in Australian universities. At La Trobe, she led the development of renewed academic career and quality assurance frameworks with an emphasis on scholarly approaches to learning and teaching practice along with the University’s transformation of its learning, teaching and curriculum approach.

She is a long-standing assessor and committee member for national program awards and is currently the Chair of the AAUT Teaching Awards Committee.

Contact the host of Panel Discussion: Exploring the Relationship Between SoTL and Higher Education Research – Definitions, Tensions, and Implications

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