Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Towards holistic student success

The use of technology in teaching and learning is implemented differently in different contexts. In some contexts, academics are trained into how to appropriately infuse technology in teaching and learning, while in other contexts academics are left to navigate the use of technology in teaching and learning without training ( Theodorio, Waghid & Wambua,2024). In the latter context, self-directed learning plays a big role, where academics need to formulate professional development (learning) goals for themselves to effectively integrate technology in their teaching (Wittmann & Olivier, 2019). Furthermore, research into the impact of staff development in integrating technology in teaching and learning and the impact of use on students’ learning is not conducted to inform practice. For instance, one wonders how staff members address the elements of the Community of Inquiry framework proposed by Fiock (2020), namely cognitive presence, social presence and teaching presence to ensure meaningful online experiences for students. This is partly because, globally, not every scholar accepts that scholarship of teaching and learning (scholarship of teaching) is research ( Gilstrap et al., 2023) and as a result, research, which could lead to improved teaching and learning and student success is undermined and not carried out. I add to this debate in this lecture, and I argue that all types of scholarships are research. I demonstrate how my over 90 research outputs, some published in Q1 and Q2 journal and by reputable publishers such as Routledge, Taylor and Francis were conceptualized, and how they have contributed to access to knowledge for both academics and students, advanced educational and technology acceptance theories, developed frameworks and resources for ensuring good capacity development to academics and equal access to knowledge for all students.