International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Volume 1, Number 2, 2007

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Essay About SoTL

Abstract

Using Autoethnography in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Reflective Practice from ‘the Other Side of the Mirror'

Borrowing concepts from autoethnography – a writing genre in which the researcher ‘becomes’ the phenomenon under investigation – this essay is based on my reflections and recollections of important events and insights that occurred during my participation in a professional development project. This experience has significantly altered my outlook on teaching and learning, as it forced me to reflect more critically on why I teach the way I do, and look at my pedagogical practices anew. The first part provides a brief introduction of autoethnography as a reflexive writing genre; the second part presents the broad narrative – that of myself as a ‘neophyte pedagogue on a journey of discovery’, the third part reflects on the challenges of the implementation of the redesigned subjects (courses), in the aftermath of the project, and the fourth part raises some important institutional issues that emerged from the experience.

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Bio

Fernanda Duarte
University of Western Sydney
Sydney, Australia
f.duarte@uws.edu.au

I was born in Brazil but have lived in Australia since 1974. I have a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of New South Wales, and am currently a lecturer and researcher at the School of Management, University of Western Sydney. My research interests lie in the areas of organizational sociology, business ethics and corporate social responsibility, organization and culture and, more recently, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. My current research projects include a special teaching and learning project that aims to investigate the pedagogical and institutional issues emerging from the shift to blended learning at the School of Management.

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