Another View: In Defense of Vigor over Rigor in Classroom Demonstrations

Abstract

Scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) demands greater empirical rigor on the part of authors and the editorial process than ever before. Although admirable and important, I worry that this increasing rigor will limit opportunities and outlets for a form of pedagogical vigor—the publication of simple, experiential, but empirically unvalidated classroom demonstrations. I explain my concerns, offer reasons why validation is not always possible, discuss possible critiques of my position, and close with suggestions and a modest plea for maintaining this alternative form of SoTL.