Engagement through Participation and Collaboration: Opportunities and Challenges

One of the most prominent and effective ways of finding belonging within ISSOTL has been by engaging with the organization’s programs, initiatives, and leadership roles. The SoTL scholars who prioritized participating in ISSOTL in a variety of ways and sought out opportunities for collaboration felt the strongest sense of belonging within the organization. While participants came to ISSOTL from a variety of pathways, almost all said that they were introduced to the ISSOTL community through the conference. Other ISSOTL initiatives that stood out as fostering belonging were the International Collaborative Writing Groups (ICWGs), described by one of our participants as “magic” for bringing people together and encouraging productive and positive SoTL work. In the previous chapter, we explored how people came to the field of SoTL and how they were introduced to ISSOTL. This chapter elaborates on the themes from that section by sharing what keeps SoTL scholars connected to, and engaged with, ISSOTL.

SoTL scholars also articulated some of the potential challenges of fully engaging with ISSOTL. These include issues of cost and accessibility related to the conference. Scholars also noted their desire for ongoing opportunities for engagement beyond the conference and in ways that perhaps explore SoTL connections at the regional (and not only international) level.