SoTL Journals

Open access; covers all areas of SoTL (i.e. the process and practice of teaching & learning); some content on social context of higher ed.; highly interdisciplinary; each issue is themed, with editor’s introduction; publishes review and reflective essays and research notes alongside conventional articles. Available through STLHE website.

CBE – Life Sciences Education

Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning (Taylor & Francis)

Venue for shorter, primarily practice-oriented or reflective/opinion pieces on a wide variety of higher ed. issues; emphasizes diversity of voices (e.g. students, faculty, administrators); magazine-style enhances topicality and current relevance.

*Collected Essays on Teaching & Learning (Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, U. of Windsor)

Open access, online; publishes essays based on papers presented at the annual Society for Teaching & Learning in Higher Education conference; good balance between analytical and practice-based research; articles are organized by topic relating to the overall conference theme. 

*College Teaching (Taylor & Francis)

Practice-oriented focus on techniques and innovation in undergraduate-level teaching; wide substantive and disciplinary scope; notable feature is “Quick Fix” articles (~500 words) that give tips for managing common in-class issues.

CourseSource

*Currents in Teaching & Learning (Worcester State U.)

Emphasis on educational development in higher ed.; content is primarily practice-oriented, focusing on issues like innovative teaching techniques, with occasional review articles synthesizing literatures in key areas or reviewing new books. Impact factor of 0.585; available through McMaster e- journal portal.

Innovative Higher Education (Springer)

Emphasis on descriptions and evaluations of new teaching and learning ideas in higher ed.; prioritizes accessibility and interdisciplinary dialogue; content is primarily practice-oriented, though also addresses social context and administrative issues. Available through McMaster e-journal portal.

Insight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching (Park University)

Open access, online; published once annually; broadly interdisciplinary focus on higher ed. teaching & learning; includes articles, reviews, and practice- oriented work on classroom innovations; recent issues include significant focus on educational technology-related issues.

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning (Purdue U.)

Open access, online; focus is PBL, not limited to any discipline or education level/context; content appears well balanced between K-12, post-secondary and professional levels. Available through journal’s website.

Interdisciplinary Journal of Teaching and Learning (Southern U. and A&M)

Open access, online; wide scope emphasizing interdisciplinary accessibility and translatability; substantive focus on both practice-oriented research and analyses of social context of higher ed.; each issue is themed with introduction from editor. Available through journal’s web site.

International Journal of Learning, Teaching, and Educational Research (Open Journal Systems/Public Knowledge Project)

Open access, online; very wide scope, covering all levels and contexts of education; interdisciplinary and methodologically diverse; includes practice- oriented, theoretical, and empirical/analytical research; particular emphasis on innovations in topical areas (e.g. international education, e-learning). 

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (Georgia Southern U.)

Open access, online; includes practice-oriented, empirical, and theoretical research; focus is primarily on higher ed., but also includes some K-12 content; most popular articles are introductions to key themes in post- secondary teaching and learning. Available through the journal’s website.

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning, U. of Georgia, Virginia Tech.)

Focuses on explorations of mechanisms for, and innovations in, the assessment of student learning in higher ed. contexts; content considers individual students, single courses, programs, institutions, and cross- institutional analyses; articles are primarily descriptive or evaluative, rather than analytical. Available through McMaster’s e-journal portal.

Journal of Biological Education

Journal of Chemical Education

Journal of Classroom Interaction (University of Houston)

Focuses on issues of student-teacher interaction, broadly conceived; covers K-12 as well as higher ed. (though a heavier on the former). Partially available through McMaster e-journal portal (via J-STOR) until 2011, but a subscription is required to access all content via the journal’s site.

Journal of College Science Teaching (National Science Teachers Association)

Focuses on teaching science at the post-secondary level; content includes practice-oriented work on teaching techniques and strategies, as well as more reflective work on the state of science education (e.g. teaching climate literacy). Available through McMaster’s e-journal portal, with some free content also available on the journal’s own web page.

Journal of College Teaching & Learning (Clute Institute)

Open access; substantively and methodologically diverse, covering many aspects of teaching and learning in a higher ed. context; includes practice- oriented, descriptive, and analytical research, with both highly targeted and more general subjects; journal issues are somewhat inconsistent in terms of size and content. Available through journal’s website and via McMaster e- journal portal.

Journal of Effective Teaching (UNC Wilmington)

Open-access, online; focuses on higher ed. contexts primarily; substantive scope is wide, and includes both practice-oriented work alongside more conventional analytical research. Available through the journal’s website.

Journal on Excellence in College Teaching (Miami University, Ohio)

Broad-based SoTL journal, focusing on a wide range of issues in higher ed.; particularly useful for content addressing current “hot topics” in teaching and learning; content includes both practice-based and more traditional research. Available through subscription only; NOT currently accessible via McMaster e-journal portal.

Journal of Experimental Education (Taylor & Francis)

Focuses on research conducted in educational contexts using rigorous experimental methodologies; particular emphasis on quantitative studies (e.g. statistical analyses, measurement, etc.); addresses all educational contexts (K-12, post-secondary, professional, vocational). Impact factor of 1.638; available through McMaster’s e-journal portal.

Journal of Further & Higher Education (T & F, University and College Union)

Addresses all aspects of higher ed. including teaching and learning, administration, teacher/staff training, etc.; emphasis on interdisciplinary dialogue and accessibility; good coverage of currently topical areas (e.g. ed. tech. integration) and of both high level and discipline-specific issues. Impact factor of 0.565; available through McMaster’s e-journal portal.

Journal of Learning Spaces (UNC Greensboro)

Open access, online; focuses on the interaction of spatial questions (e.g. classroom design) with pedagogy and assessment in higher ed.; content addresses both physical and online ‘spaces’; includes more conventional research articles, alongside shorter, practice-oriented case studies and reflective position pieces. Available through the journal’s website.

Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education

Journal of Pedagogic Development (U. of Bedfordshire)

Open access, online; broad focus on all aspects of teaching and learning, with particular emphasis on assessment; covers all levels of education (K-12, higher ed., professional/vocational); large book review section in each issue. Available via journal website, hosted by University of Bedfordshire (UK).

Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (Indiana U.)

Open access; includes data-driven empirical research, applied case studies of teaching contexts/techniques, and reviews of key literatures. Content is also oriented toward timely topics (e.g. accessibility, ed. tech innovations). 

Journal of Teaching & Learning (U. of Windsor)

Open access, online; wide substantive and methodological scope, including research and practice-focused articles, book reviews and reports on innovative teaching and learning initiatives; some social context content, but is primarily practical in focus.  hosted by the University of Windsor.

Journal of Transformative Learning (Central Oklahoma U.)

Open access; focuses on “transformative” learning from applied or theoretical perspective across all educational contexts; emphasis on innovative teaching and learning experiences (e.g. service learning, community leadership) and the inclusion of student voices; also features shorter articles describing teaching strategies. No impact factor, available online through journal’s website hosted by Central Oklahoma University.

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice (U. of Wollongong)

Focuses on fostering “pedagogy debate”, which it defines as critical engagement with emerging pedagogical issues and their relationship to broader socio-cultural trends; covers all educational contexts and levels; emphasizes the use of “critical” lenses (e.g. gender, race, class). Impact factor of 0.836, available through McMaster’s e-journal portal (from 1999 onward).

Peer Review (Association of American Colleges & Universities)

Focuses on fostering “pedagogy debate”, which it defines as critical engagement with emerging pedagogical issues and their relationship to broader socio-cultural trends; covers all educational contexts and levels; emphasizes the use of “critical” lenses (e.g. gender, race, class). Impact factor of 0.836, available through McMaster’s e-journal portal (from 1999 onward).

Practice and Evidence of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (U. of Glasgow)

Substantively covers a wide scope of issues higher ed.; methodologically focused on quantitative research; overall, it is less a SoTL journal than an outlet for looking at sociological and contextual issues in education (i.e. contains little, if any, practice-oriented work. Impact factor of 1.000; available through McMaster’s e-journal portal.

Review of Educational Research (Sage, American Educational Research Association)

Focuses primarily, though not exclusively, on the academic study of higher ed. (e.g. policy, administrative, social context issues) rather than on practice- oriented teaching and learning work; frequently publishes special issues on timely topics; content is methodologically and substantively quite diverse. Impact factor of 1.222, available through McMaster’s e-journal portal.

Studies in Learning, Evaluation, Innovation and Development (Central Queensland U.)

Open-access, online; flagship journal for ISSOTL; very wide scope, including theoretical work, practice-oriented articles, formal research, and critical commentary; emphasis on interdisciplinarity and methodological pluralism. Available through ISSOTL’s website.

Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (independent group blog)

Curated blog for educators in university and college settings; posts include commentary and updates on key issues in the field, reading lists of key teaching and learning texts, teaching recommendations and tips; overall focus is on providing access to practical materials for teachers in higher ed. Accessible at blog website: https://teachingandlearninginhighered.org

**The Teaching Professor (Magna)

Non-refereed, newsletter-type publication (i.e. published monthly, shorter articles); focuses primarily on practical teaching strategies and techniques for higher ed. rather than more formal research. Available only through subscription via journal’s site; NOT currently accessible through McMaster’s library resources.

Thinking Skills and Creativity (Elsevier)

Focuses specifically on pedagogy relating to the teaching of critical thinking and creativity; covers all educational levels and contexts, and includes analytical research, practice-oriented reports, literature and book reviews, and theoretical contributions. Impact factor of 1.022, available through McMaster’s e-journal portal.

Transformative Dialogues: Teaching & Learning Journal (Kwantlen Polytechnic U.)