The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Grants at AKU are created for innovative research projects led by full-time faculty members, who have completed at least three years of continuous service at AKU. SoTL grants were initiated in October 2015 by the Teaching and Learning Network (TL_net) as a part of the Provost's priority fund. A maximum amount of $5000 USD is granted per approved application. In the period of four years (2015-2019), 56 applications – by faculty or faculty and student teams or individuals - were submitted. About USD 60639 grant amount was disbursed to fund 21 research studies, out of which three are in progress for the year 2019-2020. The impact of the grants on the development of SoTl within AKU is reflected in the form of four research publications in international journals, five in national and five in local journals. In addition, grantees have presented their studies at conferences and seminars within and outside of AKU.
The grant aims to enhance the quality of teaching and learning at AKU through collaborative and interdisciplinary research practices. It aspires to promote best practice and reflexivity, as well as support the professional growth of our faculty members. A significant outcome of the SoTL Grants is the increase in publications from faculty across different AKU entities on their project findings. Faculty members have the opportunity to present their research findings on various platforms like the Biennial Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference organized by QTL_net and publishing in the peer reviewed journal, SoTL in the South.
Research projects conducted range in topics from classroom teaching and learning to simulation and clinical practices among teachers and medical professionals at AKU. Examples include projects focused on enhancement of student learning through the Flipped Classroom Approach, development of assessment tools for direct observation of laboratory skills, and simulation based teaching practices within clinical and medical education.
Successful grant recipients also have the opportunity to apply for their Award for Collaborative Practices in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ACPSoTL) and to be recognized as distinguished faculty members improving teaching and learning practices at AKU. For more details on the SoTL Grant Applications 2020 and the ACPSoTL Award click here
Below are testimonials from SoTL grantees:
Zohra Kurji : "The SoTL grants are a huge achievement and motivation for faculty members. In terms of publications, most of the research conducted is published in local and international journals.”
Mary Namuguzi: "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to further my research with the SoTL grant. I am happy that we completed the project and now we are in the process of writing a manuscript that we will send that in, so we can receive feedback.”
Hassan Salman Siddique: “We were able to disseminate two oral presentations, one was at International Conference for Medical Education (ICME) in Abu Dhabi. Other was presented at SOTL Conference 2019 at AKU, Beside this, we had various poster presentations at Karachi University and Dow University of Health Sciences Karachi, and Health Sciences Assembly at AKU. We had two publications 2018 published in Pakistan Medical Association Journal. Third manuscript is under review”.
Lena Jafri: “This project led me to build capacity amongst faculty and assist them in becoming Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) champs. The SoTL project produced a positive impact on medical education and created opportunities of feedback for residency candidates through case based assessment tools.”