Call for Contributions
Edited by Earle Abrahamson and Jessie L. Moore
An Invitation to Share Your SoTL Story
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) can feel like stepping into a vast and shifting sea. For some, the journey begins quietly on the shore, collecting ideas, questions and possibilities. Others wade into unfamiliar waters, learning the language and practices of SoTL while finding their confidence. Some swim further out, navigating currents of institutional culture and academic identity. Others rise above the waves, offering perspective shaped by experience, mentorship and leadership.
Navigating the SoTL Sea: Stories of Beginnings, Growth and Change is an edited collection that brings together personal reflections from scholars who have engaged with SoTL at different stages of their journeys. Written for academics, educational developers, professional staff and students alike, the book captures the lived, learned and led experiences that shape engagement with SoTL.
The book uses the sea as a shared metaphor for understanding the SoTL landscape. Contributors may reflect on early curiosity, moments of uncertainty, collaboration and mentorship, challenges and resistance, or the joy and generosity that often sustain SoTL work. Some reflections may speak of stormy waters, others of dolphins and lifeguards, and some may reveal the quiet labour of seaweed and hidden creatures beneath the surface.
Together, these stories will show that there is no single path through SoTL. Instead, there are many ways of entering, navigating and making meaning within its currents.
Why This Book Matters
For many scholars, entering SoTL can feel exciting yet uncertain. Questions often arise: Where do I begin? What counts as SoTL? Do I belong here? Even experienced scholars can feel unsettled as institutional expectations, definitions of impact and publishing landscapes continue to shift.
Much of what helps people navigate SoTL is learned informally through experience, mentorship, reflection, and community. These insights are rarely captured in formal literature.
This book seeks to make those experiences visible. By sharing honest reflections, contributors help illuminate the emotional, relational and identity work involved in SoTL. In doing so, the collection aims to reassure readers that uncertainty, challenge and growth are shared features of the journey.
The book values process as much as outcome and people as much as products. It offers space for reflection, connection and recognition across the SoTL community.
Who We Invite to Contribute
We welcome expressions of interest from:
- Early career academics and students
- Mid-career and experienced SoTL scholars
- Educational developers and professional staff
- Contributors from diverse disciplines, institutions and global contexts
Prior publishing experience is not required. What matters most is authenticity, thoughtful reflection and a willingness to share insight from your own experience.
Contributions will take the form of short reflective narratives (1,500 words maximum), written in accessible language and designed to support thoughtful, engaging reading.
Expression of Interest Questionnaire
Please complete the questionnaire linked here to indicate your interest in contributing. The questionnaire asks for the following information:
Section 1: Contributor Information
- Full Name
- Email Address
- Institutional Affiliation
- Country / Geographic Context
- Current Role (e.g., early career academic, doctoral student, educational developer, professional staff, senior academic)
- Discipline or Area of Practice
Section 2: Contribution Overview
Which SoTL Sea metaphor or theme best connects with your reflection?
(Select one or more)
- The shore and its seashells – first encounters with SoTL
- Wading into the water – early risks and uncertainty
- Learning to swim and navigating currents – developing confidence and identity
- Stormy waters – vulnerability, rejection or resistance
- Swimming together – collaboration and community
- Soaring above the sea – long-term perspectives and leadership
- Lifeguards – mentorship and guidance
- Sharks – competition, gatekeeping or fear
- Dolphins – joy, generosity and playfulness in SoTL
- Tropical or topical fish – trends and shifting priorities
- Seaweed and sea plants – slow, sustaining and often invisible labour
- Hidden creatures and deep waters – marginalised voices and unseen experiences
- Other (please specify)
Proposed Working Title
Brief Overview of Your Contribution
(Approximately 100 words or fewer)
Please describe the focus of your reflection and how it connects to your experience of SoTL. This overview will help the editors and publisher understand the goal(s) of your reflection, and a version would appear on the book website if your contribution is accepted. Final contributions will be 1500 words in length.
Section 3: Context and Perspective
What stage of the SoTL journey does your reflection primarily represent?
- Beginning / first encounters
- Early engagement
- Developing confidence and identity
- Established SoTL practice
- Leadership / stewardship / resource development
- Reflecting back on the journey
- Other (please specify)
What key insight or message do you hope readers will take from your reflection?
(1–3 sentences)
Who do you think will benefit most from your reflection?
(e.g., newcomers to SoTL, doctoral students, mid-career academics, educational developers)
Section 4: Contribution Logistics
Are you interested in co-authoring this reflection?
- Yes
- No
- Possibly
If yes, please list co-author names and affiliations if known.
Final Invitation
Navigating the SoTL Sea: Stories of Beginnings, Growth and Change is an invitation to share the experiences that often remain unspoken in academic life — the moments of curiosity, uncertainty, collaboration, challenge and discovery that shape our engagement with teaching and learning.
Whether your story begins on the shore, unfolds in stormy waters, or reflects on years spent navigating the currents of SoTL, your perspective can help others feel less alone as they enter and explore this sea.
By contributing your reflection, you will be helping to build a collective narrative of SoTL that is more human, inclusive, and honest.
We warmly invite you to share your story.
Expression of Interest Deadline
May 18, 2026
Submit your proposal via this online questionnaire.
Selected contributors will receive further guidance on writing, timelines, and editorial support.