Good Teaching

PGCAP > DAPP http://www.celt.mmu.ac.uk/ @mmu_celt

Chrissi Nerantzi @chrissinerantzi & Haleh Moravej @halehmoravej

intended learning outcomes

By the end of this theme, you will have had the opportunity to:

• discuss Good Teaching in HE

• identify specific aspects of quality assurance and quality enhancement in HE linked to teaching

• explore how to evaluate practice and what Good Teaching means in your own context

2

”They [Teachers] should not feel compelled to adopt a persona that is unnatural or seems to go against the grain of his or her personality” (Light et al 2009:124)

What does good practice look

like for teaching in HE?

Discuss and create a poster in small groups.

(10 mins)

Compare your posters against the the

UK PSF and the MMU Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy

(10 mins)

Good practice activity (part 1)

4

stu

den

t(s)

Chris

Theory 1: Teaching as telling, transmission or delivery - PASSIVE

students are passive recipients of the wisdom of a single speaker – all problems reside outside the lecturer

Theory 2: Teaching as organising or facilitating student activity - ACTIVE

students are active – problems shared

Theory 3: Teaching as making learning possible – SELF-DIRECTED

teaching is cooperative learning to help students change their understanding. It focuses on critical barriers to student learning (Threshold Concepts – Meyer and Land, 2003) Learning is applying and modifying one’s own ideas; it is something the student does, rather than something that is done to the student. Teaching is speculative and reflective, teaching activities are context-related, uncertain and continuously improvable.

(Ramsden, 2003, 108-112)

Three main theories of teaching in HE

What does the sector say?

The Dimensions of the UK Professional Standards Framework

8

Areas of Activity (WHAT)

• Design and plan

• Teach/support

• Assess/give feedback

• Develop effective learning environments and approaches to student support/guidance

• Engage in CPD incorporating research, scholarship and evaluation of professional practices

Core Knowledge (HOW)

• Subject

• Appropriate methods of teaching and learning

• How students learn

• Use and value appropriate learning technologies

• Methods for evaluating effectiveness of teaching

• Quality assurance and quality enhancement

Professional Values (WHY)

• Respect individual learners and learning communities

• Promote participation and equality of opportunities

• Use evidence-informed approaches and the outcomes from research, scholarship and CPD

• Acknowledge the wider context in which HE operates recognising implications for professional practice

The Descriptors of the UK Professional Standards Framework

9

D1

Associate Fellow

•early career researchers with some teaching

•staff new to teaching including part-time staff

•staff supporting academic provision (learning technologists, library staff

•demonstrators, technicians with some teaching responsibilities

•experienced staff new to teaching or with limited teaching portfolio

D2

Fellow

•Early career academics in full teaching role

•Academic related, support staff with substantive teaching responsibilities

•Staff with teaching-only responsibilities, including within work-based settings

D3

Senior Fellow

•Experienced staff who demonstrate impact and influence through leading, managing organising programmes, subjects/disciplinary areas

•Experienced subject mentors and staff supporting those new to teaching

•Experienced staff with departmental and/or wider teaching and learning support advisory responsibilities

D4

Principal Fellow

•Highly experiences/senior staff with wide-ranging academic/academic-related strategic leadership responsibilities linked to teaching and supporting learning

•Staff responsible for institutional strategic leadership and policy-making in teaching and learning

•Staff who have strategic impact and influence in relation to teaching and learning that extends beyond their own institution

MMU context

10

http://www.celt.mmu.ac.uk/ltastrategy/index.php

Compare your posters against the UK PSF and

the MMU Learning, Teaching and

Assessment Strategy (10 mins)

Good practice activity (part 2)

12

Effective teaching in higher education 1. Interest and explanation 2. Concern and respect for

students and student learning 3. Appropriate assessment and

feedback 4. Clear goals and intellectual

challenge 5. Independence, control and

engagement 6. Learning from students (Ramsden, 2008)

7 principles of good practice in undergraduate education

• Encourages contacts between students and faculty.

• Develops reciprocity and cooperation among students.

• Uses active learning techniques.

• Gives prompt feedback.

• Emphasizes time on task.

• Communicates high expectations.

• Respects diverse talents and ways of learning.

(Chickering & Gamson, 1987)

5E’s of an excellent University Teacher 1. education 2. experience 3. enthusiasm 4. ease 5. eccentricity Gibson, J. (2009) The five ‘Es’ of an excellent teacher, The Clinical Teacher, Volume 6, Issue 1, pp. 3–5.

issue: they measure satisfaction NOT engagement

source: Jeff Dunn: The 8 Characteristics Of A 21st Century Teacher http://edudemic.com/2013/04/the-8-characteristics-of-a-21st-century-teacher/

WHAT DO THE STUDENTS THINK?

Students Voice? MMU NSS 2013

student voice

Quality: What really matters?

class size: 1 tutor 20 students

tutor load: 1 class tutor full-time

tutor has teaching qualification

students: time on task

‘close contact’ student tutor interactions and relationship for educational gains

focus on formative assessment

quick feedback for learning

intellectual challenge

positive research environment

tutors as reflective practitioners

active learning

collaborative and social learning

clear and high expectations

peer assessment

learning hours matter

programme teams to work together

social relationships programme team

students as partners

students using feedback

Prof. Graham Gibbs

Gibbs, G (2012) Implications of ‘Dimensions of quality’ in a market environment, York: The Higher Education Academy

Gibbs, G (2010) Dimensions of quality, York: The Higher Education Academy, pp. 19-37

Prof. Graham Gibbs

http://www.qaa.ac.uk

http://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/

Scenarios: Discussion and debate

scenarios: [1, 2] [3, 4]

• Task 1 (10min): Work in groups of 4. Critique, debate, suggest solutions

• Task 2 (10min): Share your thoughts with another group

scenario 1 “I employ teacher-focused methods when I deliver lectures to large groups of students. With a large group of students, it is difficult to be interactive.”

“I employ teacher-focused methods when I deliver lectures to large groups of students. With a large group of students, it is difficult to be interactive.”

scenario 2 “I have minimised lecture material in my courses and maximised individual and group research projects, group problem-solving, and in-class discussions. Although I don’t cover as much material this way, the students learn and retain this material better. Also, standard lecture format is not the way that we learn after university. Instead, we are expected to read for ourselves and get the information that way. Thus, I feel my teaching approach better prepares students for life after university.”

“I have minimised lecture material in my courses and maximised individual and group research projects, group problem-solving, and in-class discussions. Although I don’t cover as much material this way, the students learn and retain this material better. Also, standard lecture format is not the way that we learn after university. Instead, we are expected to read for ourselves and get the information that way. Thus, I feel my teaching approach better prepares students for life after university.”

“The lecture delivers the necessary core knowledge and content that the student needs to succeed.”

“The lecture delivers the necessary core knowledge and content that the student needs to succeed.”

“Though I need sometimes to lecture and may even enjoy doing it, lecturing all the time simply bores me: I usually know what I am going to say, and I have heard it all before. But dialogical methods of teaching help keep me alive. Forces to listen, respond, and improvise. I am more likely to hear something unexpected and insightful from myself as well as others.” (Palmer, 2007, 25)

“Though I need sometimes to lecture and may even enjoy doing it, lecturing all the time simply bores me: I usually know what I am going to say, and I have heard it all before. But dialogical methods of teaching help keep me alive. Forces to listen, respond, and improvise. I am more likely to hear something unexpected and insightful from myself as well as others.” (Palmer, 2007, 25)

References

Chickering, A. W. & Gamson, Z. F. (1987) "Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education" American Association of Higher Education Bulletin vol.39 no.7 pp.3-7

Light,G., Cox, R. and Calkins. S (2009) Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, The Reflective Professional, London: Sage Publications.

Meyer, J.H.F. and Land, R. (2003) Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge: linkages to ways of thinking and practising, In: Rust, C. (ed.), Improving Student Learning - Theory and Practice Ten Years On. Oxford: Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development (OCSLD), pp 412-424.

Palmer, P. J. (2007) The Courage to Teach. Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Race, P. (2009) In at the deep-end: starting to teach in higher education, Leeds Metropolitan University

Ramsden, P (2003) Learning to teach in Higher Education, Oxon: RoutledgeFalmer.