HomeBlogPublishing SoTL Communicating Your SoTL Through Content Design by Sophie GrabiecFebruary 17, 2026 Share: Section NavigationSkip section navigationIn this sectionBlog Home AI and Engaged Learning Assessment of Learning Capstone Experiences CEL News CEL Retrospectives CEL Reviews Collaborative Projects and Assignments Community-Based Learning Data Literacy Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity ePortfolio Feedback First-Year Experiences Global Learning Health Sciences High Impact Practices Immersive Learning Internships Learning Communities Mentoring Relationships Online Education Place-Based Learning Professional and Continuing Education Publishing SoTL Reflection and Metacognition Relationships Residential Learning Communities Service-Learning Signature Work Student Leadership Student-Faculty Partnership Studying EL Supporting Neurodivergent and Physically Disabled Students Undergraduate Research Work-Integrated Learning Writing Transfer in and beyond the University Style Guide for Posts to the Center for Engaged Learning Blog In this series, I explore how the design of scholarly communication shapes the way readers engage with ideas. Across academic writing, teaching resources, and public scholarship, meaning is not carried by words alone. It is shaped by structure, sequencing, and visual design. This matters in the context of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), where research is not only produced for publication but also for uptake in teaching, learning, and institutional practice. SoTL circulates across articles, conference presentations, workshops, blogs, and other genres that require ideas to be immediately usable. In these contexts, how scholarship is designed directly affects whether it can be read, understood, and applied. When we think about SoTL, we often focus on the research itself: insights into how people learn, data that challenges familiar assumptions, and new approaches to teaching. These remain central to the work, but the way research is presented is just as important, shaping how effectively it connects with readers. As the authors of The SoTL Guide put it, “dissemination [is not] an optional extra but a vital stage of the process” (Chick, Felten, and Mårtensson 2025). Once work reaches a reader, the question becomes how it is designed to be clear, compelling, and easy to navigate. Design and accessibility shape not only who engages with SoTL work, but also how deeply they are able to engage with it. Strong findings can lose impact if the writing is dense, the structure is unclear, or the visuals are difficult to interpret. When readers struggle to cognitively process a text, even important scholarship can fail to reach the audiences it is intended for. Content design is not just a matter of style; it is part of how meaning is made and communicated. So how can you make your SoTL work more readable and usable to all readers? This series takes up that question by exploring a set of fundamental approaches to presenting research in ways that support clarity, engagement, and application. 1. Cognitive Load Is Your Invisible Barrier Cognitive load is the mental effort involved in understanding, interpreting, and retaining ideas. Dense paragraphs, complicated layouts, or poorly organized sections demand more mental effort than many readers can easily give. When readers struggle to process the structure of a piece, their attention shifts away from the ideas themselves. Even strong scholarship can lose momentum when attention is pulled toward decoding presentation rather than meaning. Effective design supports this process by creating scaffolding that guides attention and supports comprehension. It helps readers stay oriented so they can focus on meaning-making. Effective design supports comprehension by reducing this cognitive effort. It provides scaffolding that helps readers stay oriented as they move through complex material, allowing them to focus more fully on interpretation and meaning-making (Mayer 2009). Read the full post. 2. The Illusion of Linear Reading Scholarly writing often assumes readers move through a text from beginning to end. In practice, readers engage in more flexible, non-linear ways. They move in and out of texts, scanning for relevant sections, key ideas, or points that match their purpose (Pernice 2017). Design supports this kind of reading by making structure visible and usable. Clear headings, summaries, and signposts help readers orient themselves, connect ideas across sections, and move through a text with purpose. This kind of design supports engagement by aligning with how readers actually work with scholarly material. Read the full post. 3. Visuals as Arguments Figures, tables, and charts extend scholarly arguments by making relationships, patterns, and structures visible. When designed intentionally, visuals do analytical work alongside the text, shaping how readers interpret complex information (Tufte 2006; Goforth 2022; Goforth 2021). Well-designed visuals clarify data, reduce the need for extended explanation, and make key ideas easier to grasp at a glance. Even when visuals serve a more decorative or contextual role, they can support engagement and orientation when used with purpose. Read the full post. 4. Accessibility Extends Beyond Compliance Thinking of accessibility as an intellectual and ethical practice (instead of a box to check) can deepen your impact in unexpected ways (Seale 2013). When accessibility is integrated into design, it shapes clearer organization, more intentional structure, and more usable presentations of ideas. These choices strengthen communication for all readers, not only those with specific access needs. Accessible design supports navigation, comprehension, and engagement, making scholarly work easier to read, interpret, and apply (Rose et al. 2006). 5. Design Establishes Trust and Credibility Presentation shapes how readers encounter scholarship before they engage with its content. A thoughtfully designed publication signals professionalism and care, and it helps readers approach the argument with greater clarity and ease. Design influences perception as much as understanding, shaping how ideas are received and interpreted. When design is unclear or inconsistent, it can make meaning harder to follow from the outset. In this way, presentation becomes part of how scholarship is received, not just how it is delivered. Why This Matters SoTL aims to improve teaching and learning, but those improvements only happen when ideas reach people who can use them. Thoughtful design and accessibility extend your work’s reach and impact, turning scholarly research into practical knowledge. Note that this is different from your research circulating (through marketing efforts or influence in the citation list [see Cline 2025]). If we want our work to matter, we need to think not just about what we say but how we say it—how our ideas appear on the page and how easily readers can engage with them. That’s where design and accessibility come in. They are the quiet but essential partners in making SoTL scholarship count. References Cline, Ellen. 2025. “Telling Your Research Story: Maximizing Your SoTL Impact.” Center for Engaged Learning (blog), June 13, 2025. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/telling-your-research-story-maximizing-your-sotl-impact. Goforth, Jennie. 2021. “Academic Publishing: Creating Effective Tables.” Center for Engaged Learning (blog), August 19, 2021. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/academic-publishing-creating-effective-tables/. Goforth, Jennie. 2022. “Academic Publishing: Diagrams, Photos and Illustrations.” Center for Engaged Learning (blog), January 18, 2022. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/academic-publishing-diagrams-photos-and-illustrations. Rose, D. H., W. S. Harbour, C. S. Johnston, S. G. Daley, and L. Abarbanell. 2006. “Universal Design for Learning in Postsecondary Education: Reflections on Principles and Their Application.” Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability 19 (2): 135–51. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ855027.pdf Tufte, Edward R. 2006. Beautiful Evidence. Graphics Press. Mayer, R. E. 2009. Multimedia Learning. 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511811678. Pernice, Kara. 2017. “F-Shaped Pattern of Reading on the Web: Misunderstood, But Still Relevant (Even on Mobile).” Nielsen Norman Group. November 12. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/f-shaped-pattern-reading-web-content/. Seale, J. 2013. E-learning and Disability in Higher Education: Accessibility Research and Practice. Routledge. About the Author Sophie Grabiec is the Center for Engaged Learning’s Managing Editor, where she oversees the production of CEL’s books, open access resources, and blog. Before joining Elon University she lived and worked in Washington, DC at Georgetown University where she earned her M.A. in English and taught first-year writing. How to Cite This Post Grabiec, Sophie. “Communicating Your SoTL Through Content Design.” Center for Engaged Learning (blog), February 17, 2026. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/communicating-your-sotl-through-content-design.
