Starting with my first experience in 2012, I have participated in three iterations of the International Collaborative Writing Groups (ICWG) program, which is an initiative of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL). The ICWGs were originally created to facilitate international, collaborative academic research on select SoTL topics. I was a group participant at the initial 2012 ICWG, which took place in Hamilton, Ontario, concurrent with that year’s annual conference. In 2019, I was selected for a three-person leadership team that organized the ICWG program held in Atlanta, Georgia. And, in 2022, I was again a group participant, this time in Kelowna, British Columbia, the site of the first ever public-SoTL focused ICWG.  

Comparing the ICWGs and CEL Research Seminars   

While there are some differences across my three experiences with the ISSOTL ICWGs and my more recent experience with one of the Center for Engaged Learning’s (CEL) Research Seminars, there are some significant similarities:   

• They are both cohort-based, research-focused, and international initiatives that explore Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) topics.  
• They both involve face-to-face and distance-based work that extends over distinct periods of time.  
• They are both steered by a leadership team of seasoned SoTL practitioners.  

Some of the notable differences include the length of time cohorts work together face-to-face, the types and range of facilitated activities, and the specific location where they meet:  

• CEL Research Seminars meet for a full week, compared to 2–3 days for the ICWGs.  
• The types and range of activities that cohorts are asked to participate in differ between the two programs.  
• Unlike the ICWGs, which are co-located and run concurrently with another event (such as a professional conference), the CEL Research Seminars take place on the campus of Elon University.  

Cohort Collaboration  

ICWG—The cohort groups that comprise any ISSOTL ICWG begin their work together in a face-to-face setting. There is distinct value in the choice to kick off a lengthy collaborative endeavor working together when the participants who are involved are from multiple states and countries. Participants have extensive opportunities to meet and bond with their own groups plus chances to engage with the rest of the participants from other groups, and also with the leadership team. Groups are able to spend dedicated and focused time together brainstorming initial topics, exploring various SoTL research areas, and discussing the pros and cons of a range of methodological approaches to collecting and analysing data. They are also able to establish guidelines for the ways in which they will work together, but at a distance, after the allotted face-to-face time together is over.   

All of these are positive aspects of the face-to-face experience of the ICWGs. The specific structure of the locations where this work takes place, on the other hand, isn’t usually that essential to the work that groups complete together.  

CEL Research Seminar—The design of CEL’s Research Seminars (initiated in 2009) shares many similarities with the ICWGs, but also leverages other aspects of working together in community with a set of colleagues. While the ICWGs usually take place in hotel conference rooms—often large open rooms equipped with tables, chairs, and a projector—the CEL Research Seminars take place on Elon’s campus in spaces purposefully built for teaching and learning. Several spaces are available, and the rooms are modular and provide access to moveable whiteboards, multiple projectors, and other learning technologies and aids. They also take place on a university campus, which means that resources like a library are readily available. 

The specific topic selected for the 2025-2027 CEL Research Seminar Learning on Location: Place-Based Pedagogies in Higher Education motivated the seminar leadership team to take advantage of a variety of learning spaces available across Elon’s campus. We intentionally designed opportunities to allow our participants to experience different spaces on campus for many of the organized activities that were part of the week and then made time for groups to work independently at whatever location most inspired or motivated them. Groups quickly made choices about available spaces that complimented and supported the ways in which they wanted to work together.  

Team Structures 

Another notable difference between the design of the CEL Research Seminars and the ISSOTL ICWGs is the size and formation of the leadership team. Being part of the seminar leadership team has been a rewarding experience. Our team consists of two Elon faculty members, two Elon undergraduate students, and two faculty members from other institutions—Georgia State University and Oregon State University. The team also includes the experienced and insightful leadership of Dr. Jessie Moore, Director of the Center for Engaged Learning and Professor of English: Professional Writing & Rhetoric. The members of the leadership team are not only brilliant, motivated, and helpful teammates, but they are also kind, generous, creative, and inspiring. (A significant side benefit of this experience has been the chance to create new professional relationships. Getting to know our two student leaders has been inspiring: They are both only now entering their sophomore year, and yet they are so mature, capable, and productive.)  

The ICWGs, on the other hand, are usually organized by smaller leadership teams and do not involve students. The ICWGs also don’t involve an overarching experienced guide, one who provides seasoned facilitation to the entire process in the many ways that Dr. Moore does for the CEL research seminars.  

Participants 

Finally, a note about participants. In both instances, the three ICWGs I have been part of and now the 2025-2027 CEL Research Seminar, I have been incredibly impressed by who chooses to participate and why. I remain connected to many of the participants I had the chance to engage with through the ISSOTL ICWGs. Beyond the specific outputs of the three programs, I have continued to work with at least two individuals from each experience through further publications or conference presentations.  

In the case of the Learning on Location seminar, our participants are from institutions all over the US and Canada. They bring a wide range of perspectives on our seminar topic— one participant is even an architect. The broad group has coalesced into three smaller teams, with each focusing on a specific research question related to location-based learning that they will investigate for the next two years.  

Looking Ahead 

Although they’ve just begun, the energy and excitement that bubbled up during the week of the seminar this summer was both palpable and infectious. The leadership team is already discussing our own ideas for meta-level research on the topic and the seminar itself. Based on recent conversations, I am confident we will locate several intriguing threads to follow.   

I am particularly excited that my research into immersive learning practices in higher education, begun during my two years (2019-2021) as one of Elon University’s Center for Engaged Learning Scholars, aligns quite well with location-based learning. Many of the most significant immersive learning practices that I researched take place in alternative learning spaces, often outside of traditional classrooms. I look forward to adding what I’ve learned about immersive learning to our collective conversations and research pursuits and to simultaneously adding to my growing understanding of the importance of immersion to effective and sustained deep learning, especially as it relates to the unique affordances that spaces and places can provide. 

About the Author 

Phillip Motley is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Design at Elon University, and is a seminar leader for the 2025 – 2027 Research Seminar on Learning on Location: Place-Based Pedagogies in Higher Education. His research focuses on the pedagogies of design and experiential learning, especially service-learning and social innovation. Dr. Motley is also a co-author of An Introduction to Visual Theory and Practice in the Visual Age, a co-editor of Redesigning Liberal Education: Innovative Design for a Twenty-First Century Undergraduate Education, and has published his scholarship in peer-reviewed journals. 

How to Cite this Post  

Motley, Phillip. 2025. “A Reflection on Collaborative Research.” Elon University Center for Engaged Learning (blog). November 14, 2025. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/a-reflection-on-collaborative-research.