How did you become interested in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning?

I am interested in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning because it aligns closely with my commitment to lifelong learning and continuous growth. I am particularly passionate about exploring how critical theories can inform teaching practices and strengthen the connections between education and social work practice. The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning provides an opportunity to critically examine how knowledge is co-created, mobilized, and shared through a reflexive and collaborative process. Through this work, I hope to contribute to educational approaches that foster critical reflection, and support transformative learning within social work education.

What keeps you engaged or motivates you in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning?

What keeps me engaged in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning is the opportunity to learn with and from others while contributing to meaningful transformation in social work education and practice. I am motivated by the relational nature of this work, where knowledge is co-created through dialogue, collaboration, and shared reflection with students, colleagues, and community partners. I am particularly interested in how the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning can support de-colonizing social work education by centering diverse ways of knowing and challenging dominant understandings of learning

What projects are you currently working on or hope to work on in the near future?

My most recent Scholarship of Teaching and Learning project is a collaborative study titled “Creating more anti-/de-colonizing social work curriculums and pedagogy.” The Drawing on the perspectives of 22 social work educators across Turtle Island/Canada, the project has deepened both my scholarly understanding and personal growth as a reflexive co-learner. Our team is currently preparing manuscripts on the study findings, and the de-colonizing research approaches we employed. We are also pursuing broader knowledge mobilization activities and planning a follow-up study focused on student perspectives.

SoTL publications or presentations:

Issari, S. (2026, June 4–7). De-colonizing social work curriculums and pedagogy: Views of 22 social work educators across Turtle Island/Canada [Conference presentation]. 2026 CASWE-ACFTS Conference: Interconnected futures: Centering land, justice, resistance and solidarity in a complex world, Ottawa, Canada. 

Issari, S. (2026, June 4–7). Journeying through a two-eyed seeing re-search method in exploring de-colonizing social work curriculums and pedagogy [Conference presentation]. 2026 CASWE-ACFTS Conference: Interconnected futures: Centering land, justice, resistance and solidarity in a complex world, Ottawa, Canada. 

SoTL interests:

• Qualitative methods
• Student engagement
• Indigenous pedagogies
• Trauma-Informed Pedagogy
• Learning outcomes
• Course or curriculum revision
• De-colonizing Pedagogy and Curriculum