Visual and Audio Methods of Sharing SoTL Research, Ideas and Networks

By Klaudja Caushi (Northeastern University, k.caushi@northeastern.edu) and Sophie Lefmann (University of South Australia, sophie.lefmann@unisa.edu.au)

Disseminating insights gained from the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) publicly is imperative to the impact and growth of the field. Lee Shulman (1999) emphasizes the importance of making scholarly work publicly accessible for ensuring rigour, contributing to larger conversations, and providing colleagues in every corner of the world with evidence-based practices. There are already established methods for sharing the results of SoTL: journal articles, books, book chapters, conference presentations, posters, academic blogs, and lately social media (Chick & Friberg, 2022). Here, we explore additional dissemination ideas for SoTL that may not be as widely considered (yet).

• Visual Dissemination Strategies

The ISSOTL blog has previously highlighted the use of infographics to share SoTL ideas. It inspired us to consider the role of visual media adjacent to this. One promising approach for SoTL practitioners is to develop concise graphical (or visual) abstracts (GA) as part of a content engagement strategy with peers and students. GAs can summarize SoTL papers or findings and are commonly used in other fields to stimulate online consumption of research (Ibrahim et al., 2017). They simplify academic outputs, subtly different from infographics, which are used not just in academia, but for sharing messaging to vast audiences (e.g., public health initiatives). SoTL practitioners and journals could consider a complementary GA as a primer to consuming the research article, as part of a SoTL growth strategy. Journals with an education focus (e.g., Teaching and Teacher Education;  Journal of Graduate Medical Education) and other foci (e.g., Springer Nature) suggest formatting and may serve as inspiration when reporting SoTL outputs to faculty in a simplified or visually impactful manner.

Another strategy is digital (story) mapping. There are many small and large SoTL research communities around the globe, with ISSOTL being one excellent example. SoTL researchers may consider visually charting their national/ international collaborations and outputs generated from those networks in a way that is publicly accessible. Although well established in fields like geography, which have detailed story-mapping software (Dickinson & Telford, 2020), simplified digital mapping (with or without stories) may help pinpoint networks and areas of SoTL research cross-institutional collaboration (see an example of a simple network map here).

• Audio Dissemination Strategies

In an era of rapid digital innovation and increased emphasis on accessible scholarship, audio formats such as podcasts, narrated blog posts, and AI-generated voice summaries offer a powerful means for sharing SoTL work. Educators navigate complex professional demands and seek flexible on-demand content that fits diverse contexts and schedules.

Audio formats enable more frequent releases than traditional publications, allowing immediate access and engagement (Kelly, et al., 2022). They align with Universal Design for Learning Principles (CAST, 2024). These emphasize that providing multiple means of representation, engagement, and action and expression supports diverse learners and prepares content for broader use.

• Multiple Means of Representation: Audio formats benefit individuals with visual impairments or reading difficulties, ensuring accessibility to a broader audience.
• Multiple Means of Engagement: Audio content can be leveraged to make SoTL findings more engaging and relatable by introducing storytelling and conversational elements.
• Flexibility: Audio formats allow on-the-go access to information (commuting, multitasking, etc.), accommodating different schedules, aligning with Grand Challenge 5’s growth focus. Though often not as deep, it may reach wider audiences and have mass appeal by being broad.

The higher education community already offers excellent podcast examples: 

• The Teacher I Never Thanked: ISSOTL-hosted podcast sharing global teaching and learning stories across careers, fields, and disciplines.
• 60-Second SoTL: Center of Engaged Learning’s podcast concise 1–4-minute episodes provide snapshots of recent SoTL publications.
• SoTL on the Sofa: Impactful SoTL Educational Enterprise Collective’s podcast, informal interviews with higher education practitioners

Looking Forward: Changing Landscapes

The 2025 ISSOTL conference theme, “Exploring the Changing Landscapes of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning,” invites reflection on the broader impact of our messaging. This theme serves as inspiration to connect with colleagues, students, and the public through less conventional but equally valuable visual and audio approaches.

As we explore these alternative dissemination methods, institutional support remains crucial. Higher education leaders should consider recognizing and validating alternative SoTL communication formats as important scholarly work, for example, in faculty promotion processes. Only through such recognition can we fully realize the potential of diverse dissemination strategies to advance teaching and learning scholarship.

Do you have further ideas on how to connect with wider audiences to share SOTL outputs? Please leave your strategies and experiences in the comments.

References

Chick, N. L., & Friberg, J. C. (Eds.). (2022). Going public reconsidered: Engaging with the world beyond academe through the scholarship of teaching and learning. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003445036

Dickinson, S. A., & Telford, A. (2020). The visualities of digital story mapping: Teaching the ‘messiness’ of qualitative methods through story mapping technologies. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 44(3), 441–457. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2020.1712686

Ibrahim, A. M., Lillemoe, K. D., Klingensmith, M. E., & Dimick, J. B. (2017). Visual abstracts to disseminate research on social media: A prospective, case-control crossover study. Annals of Surgery, 266(6), e46–e48. https://doi.org/10.1097/SLA.0000000000002277

Kelly, J. M., Perseghin, A., Dow, A. W., Trivedi, S. P., Rodman, A., & Berk, J. (2022). Learning through listening: A scoping review of podcast use in medical education. Academic Medicine, 97(7), 1079–1085. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000004565

Shulman, L. S. (1999). Taking learning seriously. Change, 31(4), 10–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091389909602695