University Teaching, Australia: some considerations

1
University Teaching, Australia some
considerations

• Professor Bob Lingard
• The University of Edinburgh
• Workshop, ID-E
• International Dialogue on Education
• Canadian Embassy Berlin
• 15 October, 2007

2
University Teaching definitional considerations

• University teaching a broad descriptor.
• Teaching large undergraduate classes, small
  tutorial groups, small doctoral classes,
  supervising laboratory work, supervising
  practical work, supervising higher degrees and
  student research work.

3
Three message systems of educational
institutions Bernstein

• Curriculum, pedagogy (teaching), assessment
• Good pedagogy includes good assessment practices
  (formative and summative)
• Assessment as, of and for learning
• Alignment of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment

4
Pedagogy and content (discipline)

• Pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman) how to
  choose key disciplinary concepts in pedagogy to
  make key disciplinary concepts accessible for
  students and understanding how and why students
  learn
• Threshold knowledge (Darling-Hammond)
• Generic model of good teaching

5
The place of teaching in university work

• Research, teaching, service
• Research/scholarship relationship
• Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), UK Research
  Quality Framework (RQF), Australia Excellence
  Initiative, Germany competitiveness and rankings
  and effects of.

6
The University of Edinburgh mission statement

• The Universitys fundamental mission is the
  advancement and dissemination of knowledge and
  understanding.

7
The place of research and teaching in Australian
universities

• The production/reproduction of knowledge
  relationship research/teaching relationship
• Research sine qua non of universities and
  academic work
• Policy developments precipitated an enhanced
  focus on teaching in Australian universities
• Quasi-marketisation and introduction of student
  fees, new forms of accountability and quality
  assurance, new policy frameworks.

8
Australian government policies on university
teaching

• Creation of the Carrick Institute for Learning
  and Teaching in Higher Education in 2004
  (www.carrickinstitute.edu.au/carrick/go/home)
• Established a Learning and Teaching Performance
  Fund made available over 3 years 250 million
  for rewarding universities differentially in
  terms of demonstrated excellence in teaching and
  learning.

9
Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in
Higher Education

• Carrick Institute objectives enhancement of
  learning and teaching in universities, including
  considerations of curriculum development and
  assessment.
• National Carrick Awards for Australian University
  Teaching.
• National Teaching Fellowships.
• Grants Scheme (a current project on developing
  indicators at individual and institutional kevels
  for measuring quality teaching).

10
Mission of The Carrick Institute

• Mission To promote and advance learning and
  teaching in Australian higher education.

11
Objectives of the Carrick Institute

• Promote and support strategic change in higher
  education institutions for the enhancement of
  learning and teaching, including curriculum
  development and assessment
• Raise the profile and encourage recognition of
  the fundamental importance of teaching in higher
  education institutions and in the general
  community
• Foster and acknowledge excellent teaching in
  higher education
• Develop effective mechanisms for the
  identification, development, dissemination and
  embedding of good individual and institutional
  practice in learning and teaching in Australian
  higher education
• Develop and support reciprocal national and
  international arrangements for the purpose of
  sharing and benchmarking learning and teaching
  processes
• Identify learning and teaching issues that impact
  on the Australian higher education system and
  facilitate national approaches to address these
  and other emerging issues.

12
Carrick Awards for Australian University Teaching

• 250 awards annually
• Eight categories five disciplinary groupings
  (Biological Sciences, Health and Related Studies
  Law, Economics, Business and Related Studies
  Humanities and the Arts Physical Sciences and
  Related Studies Social Sciences and education),
  early career, Indigenous education, priority
  areas (2006 and 2007 team teaching).

13
Carrick Awards for Australian University Teaching

• Awards for Teaching Excellence 27 awards of
  25000
• Prime Ministers Award for the Australian
  University Teacher of the Year 1 award of 50000
• Awards for Programs that Enhance Learning 14
  Awards of 25000
• Citations for Outstanding Contribution to Student
  Learning 210 awards of 10000
• Carrick Achievement Award

14
Carrick Grants Scheme and Fellowship Scheme

• Grants scheme 3 types of programme, Leadership
  for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Priority
  Projects, Competitive Grants (all programmes
  linked to objectives and strategies).
• Fellowship Scheme building capacity for academic
  leadership long term.

15
One significant impact of Carrick

• A focus on evidencing good quality teaching and
  not just via student evaluations.

16
Australian governments Learning and Teaching
Performance Fund

• 250 million over three years.
• Competitive institutions differentially
  rewarded.
• Eligibility rules university must have a
  current institutional teaching and learning
  strategy, provide evidence of support for
  professional development for all academic staff
  in relation to teaching and learning,
  probation/tenure and promotion procedures must
  require evidence of quality of teaching and
  evidence of systematic student evaluation of
  teaching and subjects also required for
  probation/tenure and promotion.
• Policy effects institutionalising in
  universities of formal structures, policies and
  practices re quality of teaching and learning.

17
The University of Queensland, Australia
(www.uq.edu.au)

• Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) created
  position of Pro Vice-Chancellor Teaching and
  Learning
• Teaching portfolio and student evaluations
  central in probation/tenure and promotion
  procedures
• Teaching and Educational Development Institute
  (TEDI) manage student evaluations of
  teachers/teaching and subjects

18
The University of Queensland contd.

• Introduction of a number of formal Certificate
  courses on university teaching (for both staff
  and doctoral students).
• Content of such courses pedagogical content
  knowledge, curriculum development, assessment
  practices, scholarship and research about
  teaching with a practical or practice focus.

19
The University of Queensland contd.

• Support for professional development re teaching
  and learning
• Building of teacher professional learning
  communities
• University Teaching Week and University Teaching
  Awards
• Support for research on University teaching and
  for scholarship of teaching
• Promotion to full Professor on basis of
  research/scholarship on university teaching and
  learning

20
My view on university teaching and learning

• Teaching very important and with research central
  to definitions of university and university
  academic work for all types of universities,
  research intensive and others.
• An advance in Australia that there is an enhanced
  focus in universities on the quality of teaching
  and learning.
• Best way to support through framing policy
  approaches which focus the work of institutions.
• Inside institutions developmental work,
  professional development work, introduction of
  formal certificates, support for research and
  scholarship on university teaching and learning.

21
Three questions/provocations

• How can we teach teachers to teach?
• Is it possible to distinguish good teaching from
  bad within institutions and from the outside,
  and what fallacies do we meet when we try to do
  this?
• What good and bad comes out of competition in the
  field of university teaching?