Developing Our Community 
 
Gary Kern Founding Co-Editor, JoSoTL 

School of Business and Economics 
Indiana University South Bend 
South Bend, Indiana 46634-7111 
gkern@iusb.edu 

 
 
 

 

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In recent years, interest in the 
Scholarship of Teaching and 
Learning has grown significantly.  
We at JoSoTL are proud that we have 
been able to help further the sense 
of scholarly community provided by 
journals in this field.  Journals offer a 
means to “make public” the activities 
of our colleagues as we pursue our 
common topic.  Articles published in 
JoSoTL provide points of discussion, 
and “progress reports,” as we work 
to understand the art and science of 
teaching and learning.   
 
As a web-based journal, JoSoTL also 
enhances aspects of the scholarly 
community.  We can provide our 
publication without charging 
subscriptions (thanks to the kind 
support of Indiana University South 
Bend, and the University Center for 
Excellence in Teaching – UCET).  
We receive submissions and 
comments from authors and readers 
located around the world.  Monetary 
barriers caused by subscription rates 
(and submission fees at some 
journals) can affect the reach of 
publications adversely, and we are 
thankful that we have been able to 
avoid these barriers to developing 
our community. 
 
Regardless of the advancements in 
electronic communication, there 
remain occasions where meeting 
“face-to-face” is advantageous.  One 
field that I study is the use of 
technology in business decision-
making – Management Information 
Systems.  Researchers in that field 
acknowledge that there are times 
when decision-makers still prefer to 
be in the same room, physically 

together, to discuss factors in 
specific decision situations.   
 
Educators also recognize the value 
of convening for teaching and 
learning.  For instance, many 
schools of business offer certain 
degree programs through “distance 
education” systems.  There are a 
number of schools offering graduate 
degree programs using these 
technologies.  However, in almost 
every case, students are still 
required to travel to the home 
campus for at least one week of 
“face-to-face” work with their 
colleagues and instructors.  There is 
an implicit understanding that it 
remains important for us to “get to 
know” each other in this familiar 
format before we attempt to 
collaborate using other 
communications platforms. 
 
So too, I believe, we as scholars 
need to come together to advance 
our work.  That is why we attend 
professional meetings.  Here at 
IUSB, UCET annually sponsors the 
Midwest Conference on the 
Scholarship of Teaching and 
Learning.  The fourth annual 
conference is scheduled for April 11, 
2003, and Barbara Cambridge of 
AAHE will be the keynote speaker 
(for more information, see 
http://www.iusb.edu/~ucet, and click 
the “Scholarship of Teaching” link).   
 
 We at JoSoTL recognize the synergies 
we can develop through better 
partnership with the SoTL 
Conference here on our own 
campus.  Many of the people 
involved in JoSoTL are also active in 

Gary Kern Developing Our Community Page 
Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (JoSoTL), Volume 3, Number 1 (2002), pp. 1-3 
© 2002 Board of Trustees of Indiana University 
 

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http://www.iusb.edu/~ucet


 

Gary Kern Developing Our Community Page 
Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (JoSoTL), Volume 3, Number 1 (2002), pp. 1-3 
© 2002 Board of Trustees of Indiana University 
 

3 

the SoTL Conference.  Both of these 
projects have reached a certain level 
of maturity, and it is time to explore 
ways to advance our common 
cause: supporting our shared 
community of scholars.  In future 
issues of JoSoTL, you will see more 
information about the conference.  
We will consider how we might help 
make public work presented at the 
conference.  And we will encourage 
you, our readers, to become involved 
in the conference. 
 
How to most effectively bring these 
two modes of community support 
(web-based journal and professional 
conference) is certainly open to 
interpretation.  Web technology is 
still a very young medium, and no 
one has perfected a sound means 
for its optimal application.  Here at 
JoSoTL, we strive to improve all 
aspects of our journal: both the 
editorial process and the delivery of 
the journal through our web site.  
Please offer your suggestions for 
improvement via email to 
gkern@iusb.edu, or josotl@iusb.edu.  
We welcome and appreciate all of 
your comments.  Together, we can 
help to form a stimulating, vibrant 
community of scholars as we pursue 
our common interests in the 
Scholarship of Teaching and 
Learning. 
 

 

mailto:gkern@iusb.edu
mailto:josotl@iusb.edu

	Developing Our Community
	
	
	Gary Kern