Sociology Internal Interest Group Approved by ISSOTL
by Kathleen McKinneyFor the many sociologists who are active in the scholarship of teaching and learning, the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL; www.issotl.org) recently launched an internal sociology interest group. This group is the first ISSOTL discipline-based internal interest group. The mission of ISSOTL—an international, interdisciplinary professional organization, which has an annual conference with 500 to 800 attendees—is to foster inquiry and disseminate findings about what improves and articulates post-secondary learning and teaching. In addition, ISSOTL offers groups of members the opportunity to form internal interest groups.
In line with the mission of ISSOTL, the mission and objectives of the sociology interest group are to foster inquiry, encourage collaborations, share resources, disseminate findings, and establish applications on techniques to improves post-secondary learning and teaching in the discipline of sociology and closely related fields. More specific goals include the following:
- Find and exchange resources for SoTL inquiry in sociology and closely related fields.
- Form SoTL project collaborations including those that cross institutional and national boarders.
- Propose and organize a session related to SoTL and sociology at the meetings of ISSOTL.
- Help non-sociologists see the usefulness of the sociological imagination for understanding learning and teaching.
- Work to enhance the status of SoTL in sociology including making connections between ISSOTL and various sociological professional organizations around the globe.
- Co-author articles for the ISSOTL newsletter, The International Commons and the ASA Section on Teaching and Learning newsletter, Teaching/Learning Matters.
There are reciprocal benefits to the interest group and to ISSOTL from this partnership. For ISSOTL, these benefits include recruiting new members, having additional conference presentations and attendees to/for ISSOTL, and helping non-sociologists realize the relevance of sociology concepts and theories to teaching and learning. For sociology/sociologists, these benefits include increasing the legitimacy of SoTL in our discipline, supporting international connections in the field of teaching and learning in sociology, and understanding interdisciplinary connections in SoTL that could benefit teaching and learning in sociology.
Additional members to the interest group are welcome. You must be an ISSOTL member (membership is $40 for the calendar year and you can join online) and are encouraged to attend ISSOTL annual meetings when possible (e.g., Bloomington, IN, on October 22-25, 2009, and Liverpool, England, in October 2010). For more information, contact Kathleen McKinney at kmckinne@ilstu.edu. 
