Editorial.

As teachers, we all do scholarship, whether it is publishing, presenting, preparing lectures, or formulating lesson plans. Scholarship enriches our classroom presentations and allows us to speak with confidence about our subjects. We become familiar with current scholarship in our disciplines and consider its implications. We often must revise our thinking because of new scholarship. That is why we are considered to be "teacher-scholars." The two activities go hand-in-hand.

We share the fruits of our scholarship with our peers in the marketplace of ideas. Conversely, our colleagues share their ideas and criticisms, leading us to refine our thinking. This refinement fosters growth of new knowledge.

What is not so often realized is how our own scholarship enriches the education of our students. I do not mean by that the obvious fact that we impart new knowledge to our students. I mean that the students themselves benefit from scholarship by learning more and asking enriched questions. Information does not flow in one direction; the teacher does not simply provide instruction grounded in research. The students respond with questions that indicate their own understanding of the subject based on their learning and thinking. The quality of their learning is enhanced. No instruction is static when backed by scholarship; no learning is stymied when exposed to it.

Scholarship and learning create an ongoing dialogue between teachers and learners. The two cannot be separated without damage to the other. Together, they form a symbiotic relationship that thrives in academic existence, bringing into being what Matthew Arnold, the great English poet and critic, called "A disinterested endeavor to learn and propagate the best that is known and thought in the world."

This issue of Academic Exchange Quarterly is devoted to "The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning." There are articles from teacher-scholars from the United States, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, Iran, and Canada. Each article focuses on some aspect of teaching and learning, the primary responsibilities of teachers around the world. Each author shares techniques or suggestions for the improvement of teaching and learning. From Pace's article on feminist pedagogy, Moskal, Old, and Miller's article on scholar-ship in the university, Heath and Monaco's article on learning style differences between gifted and non-gifted grade school students, and a host of other excellent articles, this quarter's issue is filled with valuable information.

The work of scholarship and learning goes on without let-up, a constantly evolving activity. This issue of Academic Exchange Quarterly plays a small role in that vital process, and we hope that you will find it of value in your own role of "teacher-scholar."

Ben Varner, Ph.D.
University of Northern Colorado