Sophia E Abbot
Sophia E Abbot
Graduate Professional Assistant
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning; student-faculty partnership; co-creation; high impact practices; critical pedagogy; educational development
Sophia Abbot is a doctoral candidate in the Higher Education Program at George Mason University. She currently works as a graduate assistant on the Anti-Racist and Inclusive Teaching (ARIT) team in Stearns Center for Teaching & Learning. Her primary responsibilities include developing inclusive teaching resources for faculty and carrying out assessment of ARIT programming to determine the impacts on instructor's inclusive teaching practices and overall learning.
Sophia has studied the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) and students' perspectives on higher education for the last eight years, focusing in particular on pedagogical partnerships and co-creation among students and faculty. Prior to completing her Master of Arts in higher education (Elon University, NC), she spent three years working as a faculty developer at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. She has written and presented extensively on partnership, SoTL, and educational development. She currently serves on the International Advisory Board for the International Journal for Students as Partners (IJSaP), as a Special Projects Associate for the journal Teaching & Learning Inquiry, and as a co-chair of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning's (ISSOTL) Student Engagement and Co-Inquiry Interest Group.
Current Research
Theories in feminist pedagogy, co-creation and pedagogical partnership, faculty development, antiracist teaching, SoTL
Selected Publications
Loughry, A., Schrum, L., Abbot, S., Catalano, C. (2023). Developing digital skills through a student-facilitated asynchronous learning activity. Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, 22.
Lukes, L., Abbot, S., Henry, D., Wells, M., Baum, L., Case, K., Brantmeier, E. J., & Wheeler, L. (2023). Impact of a regional community of practice for academic developers engaged in institution-level support for SoTL. International Journal for Academic Development.
Abbot, S. (2021). The role of ignorance in student-faculty partnerships. International Journal for Students as Partners, 5(2).
Chick, N., Ostrowdun, C., Abbot, S., Mercer-Mapstone, L., & Grensavitch, K. (2021). Naming is power: Citation practices in SoTL. Teaching & learning Inquiry, 9(2).
Mercer-Mapstone, L. & Abbot, S. (Eds.) (2020). The Power of Partnership: Students, Staff, and Faculty Revolutionizing Higher Education. CEL Open Access Book Series.
Grants and Fellowships
2023 Suzanne Scott Constantine Award for Excellence (Women & Gender Studies)
2022-2023 Mary Zamon Doctoral Student of the Year (Higher Education Program)
AAC&U Future Leader's Society, 2023 award finalist & member
ISSOTL Emerging Scholars award, 2022
American Historical Association Travel Award, 2022
POD Network Early Career Grant, 2021
Courses Taught
WMST 100. Global Representations of Women
Education
A.B. Bryn Mawr College, Educational Identity and Empowering Pedagogy
M.A. Elon University, Higher Education
Recent Presentations
Abbot, S. (2023, June 6). Looking Forward: The Future of Students as Partners [Panelist]. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Abbot, S. (2023, April 25). Uncomfortable Feelings: Embracing Circles and Being an Amateur in Partnership [Speaker]. Mount Royal University & University of Calgary Virtual Speaker Series, Calgary, Canada.
In the Media
Gillooly, E. (2023, March 29). Five 4-VA schools collaborate to better understand the history of higher education. George Mason University 4-VA.
Gillooly, E. (2021, March 31). Putting the history of higher education under a microscope. George Mason University 4-VA.