What is Scholarship of Teaching and Learning?

“The scholarship of teaching is not merely teaching our scholarship. Nor is it simply teaching well... The scholarship of teaching means that we invest in our teaching the intellectual powers we practice in our research” (Bender & Grey, emphasis added). 

Boyer’s Model of Scholarship is an excellent reference for adjunct instructors. This model highlights four types of scholarship: Discovery, Integration, Application, and Teaching. Adjunct instructors can utilize this model as a framework for scholarship integration in both teaching and learning. This model has been encouraged in many higher-education institutions as a reciprocal framework where teachers and students are partners in learning: each learning from one another.

Discovery: Adjunct instructors are life-long learners. They are expanding their knowledge through the practice of creating, designing, writing, publishing, and submerging themselves in current research. Active participants are contributing to peer- review journals, are involved in chapter and book contributions, and are looking for new ways to participate in scholarship practices.

Integration: They apply new knowledge through interdisciplinary instructional
 approaches. These approaches encompass: knowledge, research, education and theory. For example, in the field of education, instructors merge two or more disciplines (i.e. a research project); participants collaborate to write a textbook that can be adopted by multiple disciplines.

Application: Adjunct instructors are applying scholarship through leadership opportunities: consulting, advising, coaching, and serving. In education, they are working with student leaders in ways that promote professional growth and encouraging service within the field.


Teaching: Instructors are integrating new concepts and approaches that they are learning into daily practice. They are creating and implementing new curricular materials. They strive for excellence in teaching and are highly engaged in research that pertains to new models, theories, and frameworks. They also serve as mentors for graduate students.

Gina M. Pepin earned both her MS in Elementary Reading and Literacy (2007) and her Doctorate in Teacher Leadership (2013) from Walden University. She is an online adjunct instructor for M.Ed. Reading Specialist courses at Grand Canyon University. Gina is also a Title 1 Reading Specialist overseeing three K-3 elementary buildings in Upper Michigan. She serves as a literacy content expert on several doctoral committees and is an active member of several organizations - including the International Literacy Association, Michigan’s Gifted and Talented Association, Educator’s Rising, and is part of an Advisory Committee for Careers in Education. Her research interests include literacy, intervention and assessment, teacher leadership, and neuroplasticity.