Faculty Bio
Dr. Linda Henderson
Associate Professor
My entire life I have been passionate about teaching and coaching. When I was younger, my focus was on coaching athletes. Now it is my humble privilege to coach university students! For me, there is nothing more rewarding than helping students be successful – not only in school, but also in life. Students in my classes know that they have my unconditional support and that I genuinely care! My classrooms are places of respect and interactive learning. I emphasize skill development over content and thinking over memorization. I stress accountability, initiative, energy and enthusiasm – qualities I try to bring to class myself, every day.
After five years of teaching at the University of Calgary, I joined the faculty at St. Mary’s “College” in 2003. It has been indescribable to be part of the process that has brought us to St. Mary’s University today!
Specialization/Research Interest:
Because of my keen interest in effective teaching and learning, my major research area is the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. I have been able to share my work in this area locally, nationally and internationally. As a sport sociologist, I am conducting a longitudinal research study of the experiences of sports fans and a project that explores the intersection of Sport and a concept I have developed called “SGS” (i.e., the complex interplay of “Sex” assigned at birth, “Gender” and “Sexuality,” that can be used to illustrate the diversity of peoples’ realities as embodied, gendered, sexual beings.)
I am also a public sociologist - utilizing my sociological insights to serve as a collaborative consultant, strategist, facilitator and mentor for organizations outside of the university. My current partners in this endeavour are involved in high performance and professional sport.
Education
PhD Sociology, University of Calgary
MA Sociology, University of Calgary
BA (Honours) Sociology, University of Calgary
- Linda J. Henderson. Fall 2018. “A Research Note on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.” Illuminate, St. Mary’s University.
- BOOK CHAPTERS: Linda J. Henderson. 2016. “SGS: A Sensitizing Concept for Teaching Gender Diversity.” Pp. 63-71 in Teaching Gender and Sex in Contemporary America, edited by K. Haltinen and R. Pilgerem: Springer Publishing.
- BOOK REVIEWS: Linda J. Henderson. 2016. “Book Review: Hyper Sexual Hyper Masculine?: Gender, Race and Sexuality in the identities of Contemporary Black Men.” Teaching Sociology 44(4): 305-306.
- Linda J. Henderson. 2016. “Book Review: The Cultural Encyclopedia of the Penis.” Teaching Sociology 44(4):307-308.
- Linda J. Henderson. 2016. “Book Reviews: Start Talking: A Handbook for Engaging Difficult Dialogues in Higher Education and Stop Talking: Indigenous Ways of Teaching and Learning and Difficult Dialogues in Higher Education.” Teaching Sociology 44(1): 56-60.
- A Research Note on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning By Linda J. Henderson In 1990, in response to the findings of a national study of the research activities and career goals and achievements of college and university faculty in the United States, Ernest Boyer made a passionate plea to the Academy to broaden its definition of “research” in his now renowned book Scholarship Reconsidered. He argued that there was an urgent need for “a more creative way to view the work of the professoriate” (Boyer, 1990:xii). He proposed that four different types of scholarship should be recognized and valued: (1) the scholarship of discovery – traditional research that contributes to the advancement of knowledge; (2) the scholarship of integration – synthesis of ideas across disciplines or time; (3) the scholarship of application – using research findings to address real life problems; and (4) the scholarship of teaching – the systematic study of teaching and learning processes. Boyer’s close colleague, Charles Glassick (2000:879) points out that all four types of scholarship share common standards of clear research goals, adequate preparation, appropriate research methods, significant results, effective presentation and reflective critique. For the past twenty years (or so), my primary research interests have been centred on the fourth type of scholarship described by Boyer – the scholarship of teaching. Sometimes called the scholarship of pedagogy, the most current descriptor of this type of scholarship is the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning or SoTL. As Kathleen McKinney (2007:10) states, SoTL “goes beyond scholarly teaching and involves the systematic study of teaching and/or learning and the public sharing and review of such work.” She further indicates that SoTL can serve many functions in addition to enhancing classroom teaching and learning including involving students in research, adding publications, presentations and performances to faculty accomplishments, contributing to the development of teaching policies and procedures, and improving reflection on the importance of understanding teaching and learning processes at the post-secondary level. SoTL is a multi- and inter-disciplinary endeavor, and one that in my own discipline of Sociology is practiced and embraced as a “field” of inquiry. The American Sociological Association has published SoTL research in their journal Teaching Sociology for over 40 years. They also have an online data base of teaching resources called TRAILS (including sample course outlines and classroom exercises and assignments), and along with the Canadian Sociological Association and many regional Sociological Associations, have special membership sections and organizational committees on teaching and learning. The activities and products of SoTL are very diverse and can include the following: • studying effective teaching and learning processes by reviewing the extensive literature on SoTL and/or building on it by conducting your own original research • producing or evaluating course resource materials such as writing or evaluating textbooks and/or supplementary textbook materials such as practice questions, test banks and web-links • conducting book and or video reviews for academic journals • creating and evaluating effective classroom practices and techniques including teaching and learning styles and strategies, course outlines, classroom exercises, writing assignments, examinations and other assessment tools • contributing to academic program, policy and curriculum review and development • taking or conducting teaching workshops • training and advising teaching and research assistants • becoming involved in a membership section or committee on teaching and learning in a professional academic organization • organizing, presenting and/or participating in teaching and learning sessions at academic conferences • giving public SoTL presentations in various academic and lay settings • contributing to teaching and learning newsletters and online data bases • writing a teaching workshop manual or a book on SoTL best practices • publishing SoTL research in traditional academic journals It is interesting to note, that in spite of the fact that all SoTL activities meet standard research criteria of public sharing and peer review, and Boyer’s advocacy for embracing the “mosaic” of research interests of university faculty almost 30 years ago, academic research on teaching and learning is still often dismissed or devalued in decisions about promotion and tenure and the awarding of research grants – even at post secondary institutions that claim to be “teaching focused.” It is encouraging that certain disciplines, post-secondary institutions and organizations, including CAUT (The Canadian Association of University Teachers), are joining in the call to recognize the importance of this vital area of scholarly research. Boyer, Ernest L. 1990. Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Glassick, Charles E. 2000. “Boyer’s Expanded Definitions of Scholarship, Standards for Assessing Scholarship, and the Elusiveness of the Scholarship of Teaching.” Academic Medicine 75(9): 877-880. McKinney, Kathleen. 2007. Enhancing Learning Through the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: The Challenges and Joys of Juggling. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.