This plenary was moderated by Randy Bass and featured Ignite presentations by each of the speakers (follow these link for more on Ignite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignite_(event) and http://igniteshow.com/ )

As the opening plenary there were three themes which were the focus of the three presenters. Jessie Moore discussed the Foundations in SOTL and the importance of reflective practitioners in this field. Jessie then discussed the developing literature in the field but that many still did not know about this and how those present needed to help their colleagues become aware of this. The challenges of bridging continents was discussed and then a mention of SOTL being about collective inquiry.

Chris Anson then moved to a discussion around studying and designing for transfer of learning and our work and this takes place. Then lastly Jennifer Hill talks about student voices in SOTL. Jennifer talked about the importance of developing life skills in our students but also enlightening them. However we should not expect this to happen without engaging students in this. This is a challenge but if started small and then built upon it can be successful and energising. Students need to be involved in developments and the creation of a product but then should also be involved in the end going public process. Jennifer also discussed the importance of space for these conversations and said “the best SOTL is to unite student and faculty voices to work together.” One important approach that Jennifer has been using is on the first day of meeting students rather than introducing the subject she teaches she gets the students to consider what sort of a learner they want to be and how they will contribute to their learning process.