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Scholarship of Teaching & Learning in Higher Education (SoTL) Incubator

How the SoTL Incubator Works

The incubator program guides faculty through the process of developing and sharing scholarship of teaching and learning research.

  1. Develop your research idea
  2. Review existing literature
  3. Design your study
  4. Prepare an IRB application
  5. Collect data
  6. Analyze results
  7. Publish or present your findings

Program Overview & Meeting Schedule

Meeting 1 – Project Planning

  • Define the research question, project scope, and instructional intervention.

Meeting 2 – Literature Review

  • Identify and review relevant scholarship on teaching and learning.

Meeting 3 – Research Design

  • Develop a methodology for collecting meaningful data.

Meeting 4 – IRB Preparation

  • Prepare materials for Institutional Review Board approval if needed.

Meeting 5 – Data Collection

  • Plan and organize data collection procedures.

Meeting 6 – Data Analysis

  • Analyze findings with support from TLI staff or collaborators.

Meeting 7 – Writing and Dissemination

  • Prepare conference presentations or journal manuscripts.

Interested in starting a SoTL project?

Complete the SoTL Incubator Interest Form to schedule an initial planning meeting with TLI staff.

The incubator program has supported projects by the following UT faculty, staff, and graduate students:

  • Jedediah Blanton; Rachel Williams, Department of Kinesiology, Recreation, & Sports Studies
  • Anne Ho; Joan Lind, Department of Mathematics
  • Ryan Windeknecht, Department of Philosophy
    • IRB approved
  • Sally C. Harris, Department of English
    • Manuscript under review at The Journal for Centers of Teaching and Learning
  • Michelle Violanti, Associate Professor, School of Communication Studies
    • IRB approved
  • Daiane Santana Alves, Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology
    • Case study exams decreased test anxiety in a general biology class. [Conference presentation].  Innovative Teaching & Learning Conference, Online.
  • Laura Trujillo-Mejía, World Languages and Cultures
    • IRB approved, project complete.
  • Phyllis Thompson, College of Social Work
    • IRB approved
  • Millie Gimmel, Associate Professor, Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures
    • IRB approved
  • Lisa Davenport; Meghan Parson, College of Nursing
    • IRB approved
  • Jennifer Weisent; Becky DeBolt; Alexis Niceley; Jaime Norris, Small Animal Clinical Sciences; College of Veterinary Medicine
  • Caroline Wienhold, Division of Biology; Randall Small, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology; Patrick Biddix, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies; Virginia Stormer, Division of Student Success
    • Manuscript accepted at To Improve the Academy
  • Amber Giffin, University of Illinois, Chicago
    • IRB approved.
  • Sean Lindsay, Physics & Astronomy
    • IRB approved.
  • Qi Sun, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies; Amber Giffin, University of Illinois, Chicago
    • IRB approved
  • Madeline Sutton, Duke University Thompson Writing Program; Sean Morey, Department of English; Virginia Stormer, Division of Student Success; Megan von Bergen, Murray State University
    • IRB approved
  • Adam Ibrahim, Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies
    • IRB approved
  • Robert Jacobsen, Earth & Planetary Sciences; Lauren Pinkard, Student, Earth & Planetary Sciences
    • Pinkard, L. E., & Jacobsen, R. E. (2023, September 12). The perceptions, expectations, and career interests of first-year students in Introductory Geoscience. [Research poster]. Discovery Day, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.
  • Molly West; Victoria Beasley; Blake Colclasure, Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication
  • Claire Mayo, College of Arts & Sciences
    • IRB approved
  • Joe Witt, Religious Studies, UTK, Victoria Machado, Rollins College, Lucas Johnston, Wake Forest University, Chris Crews, Denison University, & Dominic Wilkins, Colorado College.
    • IRB approved
  • Kathryn Zirkle; Cameron Carr, College of Nursing
    • IRB approved
  • Grace Therrell; Erin Whitaker, UTK Libraries
    • IRB approved
  • Christopher Mayer, Doctoral Candidate, Department of English
    • IRB approved
  • Erin Darby; Rachelle Scott, Religious Studies; Virginia Stormer, Division of Student Success
  • Anna Snyder, Student; Emily Roberts, Graduate Student; Amy Robinson, Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences
    • Poster presentation completed
  • Kirsten Benson, Director, Judith Anderson Herbert Writing Center
    • IRB approved
  • Napatsawan Nugent, College of Nursing
  • Ji Yoo; Casey Norris, College of Nursing
    • IRB approved
  • Jessica Pyle, Microbiology; Caroline Wienhold, Division of Biology
    • IRB approved
  • Michael Naparstek, Religious Studies
    • IRB approved
  • Anton Schultz, Graduate Teaching Associate, Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies
    • AI in Sport Marketing: Understanding Students’ Perceptions. (2025). With Irina Berry, Ilina Arsova, Chris Mayer, Landon Huffman, & Jeffrey Graham. [Research Presentation]. Annual Sport Marketing Association Conference, Glendale, AZ, October.
  • Nau Pokhrel, Physics and Astronomy
  • Michelle Childs; Sejin Ha, Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management
    • IRB approved
  • Katie Bevins; Tori Sanders, World Languages & Cultures
    • IRB approved
  • Fatima Zahra, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
  • Ashley Pennell, College of Social Work
    • IRB approved

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