In this workshop, we will initiate a discussion of the journal peer review as a specific genre that plays a significant role in defining the SoTL community. These brief writings have enormous power in defining the boundaries of the community, as they can ostracize potential members or facilitate a sense of belonging. They can also affect the work itself, guiding manuscript content in one direction or another.
Workshop Activities
- The workshop will begin with our analysis of a random sampling of reviews from Teaching & Learning Inquiry.
- Participants will be invited to identify the common characteristics of these reviews.
- Participants will consider how peer review in SoTL differs from peer review in their disciplinary contexts and reflect on how such reviews contribute to the identities of both author and reviewer.
- Next, through a discourse analysis of a selection of reviews from TLI, participants will identify specific rhetorical moves and language choices that encourage both rigor and persistence--that effectively support revision for better writing while also cultivating a positive identity and a sense of belonging in the SoTL community.
- Ultimately, workshop participants will draft a set of guiding principles for SoTL reviews.
This workshop welcomes participants new to SoTL or to reviewing, as well as seasoned SoTL practitioners and reviewers.
