As an undergraduate student partner to faculty, I saw the immense power in collaborating with faculty to support student learning. In particular, I appreciated being able to affirm their teaching efforts and reflect back what I was observing in the classroom. My work in educational development is inextricably linked to student-faculty partners, SoTL, and equity, but this space serves as a hub for finding those development efforts.
Because I came to educational development through student-faculty partnership, my story of educational development is centered on advocacy for meaningful engagement with students about their learning. My research is also inflected by my own struggles to take that meaningful experience and translate it into a path forward in this field. I’ve spent my career working in educational development, but this work has happened in round-about and co-created ways. My writing and presentations below reflect both the challenge and rich possibility in that liminality.
My story of educational development is centered on advocacy for meaningful engagement with students about their learning.
Writing
Lukes, L., Abbot, S., Wheeler, L., Henry, D., Case, K., Wells, M., Baum, L., & Brantmeier, E. J. (accepted). Strategic planning tools for educational developers supporting SoTL cultures and programs. To Improve the Academy.
Lukes, L., Abbot, S., Henry, D., Wells, M., Baum, L., Case, K., Brantmeier, E. J., & Wheeler, L. (in press). Impact of a regional community of practice for academic developers engaged in institution-level support for SoTL. International Journal for Academic Development.
Doktor, S., Bach, D., Abbot, S., Hardin, J. (2019). At the threshold: A case study of a partnership between a student organization and an educational development center. International Journal for Students as Partners, 3(1).
Felten, P., Abbot, S., Kirkwood, J., Long, A., Lubicz-Nawrocka, T., Mercer-Mapstone, L.,Verwoord, R. (2019). Reimagining the place of students in academic development. International Journal of Academic Development, 24(2), 192-203.
Abbot, S. & Gravett, E. (2018). Querying the P(hD)ath to educational development in higher education. In Bossu, C. & Brown, N. (Eds.), Professional and Support Staff in Higher Education. Singapore: Springer.
Presentations
POD 2020: “Looking Inward, Thinking Forward: Models and Tools for Center Evaluation” (Collins-Brown, Little, Bitting, Abbot, Morrison, & Pollard)
POD 2017: “Who’s Impacting Whom? Engaging Undergraduate Student Consultants in Educational Development” (Abbot, Bach, & Streifer)
POD 2017: “When Experience Comes First: Creating Post-Baccalaureate Pathways to Educational Development” (Bahti & Abbot)
SLTHE 2017: “Bridging the Gap: Involving Undergraduate Students in the Work of Faculty Development” (Abbot & Gutierrez)
Sophia Abbot 