You work in educational development in higher education, as a developer or adviser in a Teaching and Learning Centre, embedded in a faculty, or or in another role where supporting and improving teaching is central to your work. You believe teaching can be better, and that research, evidence, and systematic inquiry can help make that happen. SoTL — the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning — is one of the most powerful tools you have for that. And one of the hardest to make stick. Whether you’re just starting out or trying to go further, you’re probably the one who put it on the agenda. Getting others to take it seriously is the harder part — especially when the response is ‘absolutely, let’s pick this up after the summer’. Which was two summers ago.
SoTL challenges for educational developers
- You’ve introduced SoTL. There’s interest, even enthusiasm, but it stays small. Lecturers come to a workshop, get inspired, and then nothing really changes. The projects don’t get finished. The insights don’t travel. You’re not sure how to break that cycle.
- You want to support colleagues in doing SoTL, but you don’t always feel confident enough yourself. How do you guide someone through a research design that is both feasible and meaningful? What methods work for a lecturer whose background is in engineering, medicine or the arts, and not in social science research? And when a colleague comes to you for guidance, you sometimes wonder whether you’re giving them what they actually need.
- SoTL projects happen, but they stay separate. Nobody knows what colleagues are working on. Insights don’t connect. There’s no shared direction, no community. It feels like starting over every time.
- You’re doing a lot. But when someone asks what the impact has been, it’s genuinely hard to answer. And that’s uncomfortable, especially when leadership doesn’t see SoTL as strategically relevant.
What successful SoTL implementation looks like
SoTL isn’t a project anymore, it’s part of how people work. Lecturers ask questions about their own teaching as a matter of course, because they’ve seen what it gives them. Insights connect to curriculum decisions, programme conversations, quality reviews.
There’s a community that holds itself. People know what colleagues are working on. Shared questions emerge. And colleagues from engineering, medicine, humanities, the arts — who once thought SoTL wasn’t for them — are now some of the most engaged.
And you — you’re a credible, sought-after partner. Someone whose expertise shapes how the institution thinks about teaching and learning. Your advice lands. Your voice carries.
Getting there is what we work on together.
About your SoTL consultant
I’ve spent over 30 years in higher education, in life sciences, educational design, and SoTL. I’m Chair of EuroSoTL, co-author of the Utrecht University Roadmap for SoTL, and co-editor of the book Routes to Change – Strategic Leaderschip in SoTL. I now work independently with institutions and educational developers across Europe.
SoTL is at the heart of what I do, though our conversations often go further. I also support educational developers on didactics, professional development design, teaching qualification trajectories, and their own growth as advisers.
I’m not here to take over. I’m here to help you do what you already know needs doing.
SoTL consultancy for educational developers: how we work together
Whether you’re just getting started or ready to go deeper, we can work together in different ways. What’s described below gives you an idea — and there’s always room to shape something that fits your specific situation.
- A SoTL talk or masterclass
You want to get SoTL on the map, for your team, your faculty, or a group of lecturers who’ve never heard of it. A talk or masterclass sparks genuine interest and gives people a first concrete sense of what SoTL can do for their teaching and their students. - A SoTL-Intensive trajectory
You know SoTL matters, now you want to make it real. Structured around the Utrecht University Roadmap for SoTL, this trajectory guides lecturers from a first question to a real, finished project. With proper support at every step. Whether you’re working with a full team or largely on your own. → [Read more about the SoTL-Intensive trajectory] - SoTL Leadership workshop
One or more practical sessions based on Routes to Change — Strategic Leadership in SoTL. We explore what SoTL leadership looks like in your context. How it emerges, why it often goes unrecognised, and how to make it more intentional. Participants leave with language to name what’s already happening and concrete ideas for next steps. Format and duration shaped around your context. - SoTL as institutional culture
Sometimes a workshop isn’t enough. This is longer-term work, connecting initiatives, building communities, developing SoTL leadership across your institution, and making it count at a strategic level. Not SoTL as a project, but as a way of working. Trajectory length and format shaped around your situation.
Curious about how I can help you move SoTL forward? Then let’s talk. We can meet in person or jump on a Teams or Zoom call, whatever works for you. Reach out at info@irmact.com and we’ll plan something soon.