Improving the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning through Classroom Research

The scholarship of teaching emerged in the last decades as a fundamental concept to the development of good teaching practices in Higher Education and, consequently, to the enhancement of the quality of student learning. Considering that scholarship comprehends a process as well as an outcome, research on teaching and learning should be viewed as one important aspect of the scholarship of teaching. The goal of this essay is to illustrate how the scholarship of teaching and learning can be enhanced through the development of classroom research rooted on students' questioning, conceived and implemented by both university teachers and educational researchers. Valuing and stimulating students' questions offers an innovative dimension to science education as it puts students at a central role in the learning process. This way, encouraging students questioning also strengthens teaching-research links by bringing teachers and learners together in a community of inquiry.