Networks Issue 15, January 2012 23

The Good Teaching Project Report

Abstract

This brief report presents progress of work involved in the Good Teaching Project during the academic year 2010-11.

Our Corporate Plan states that we want students to recommend us to friends, and a significant influence on that is public endorsement of our teaching quality. In 2010 we embarked on the Good Teaching Project (GTP) with the aim of defining and making explicit the elements and components of good teaching in higher education. In addition, we aimed to establish links between our support for the enhancement of teaching quality and good teaching practice and where and how our support may be refined and refocused. This report addresses our progress on the first objective.

Outcomes will be made available through a mini-site, which makes the components of good teaching explicit in a variety of contexts – lecture, seminar, laboratory and studio.

Keywords

support to newly appointed staff, support for enhancing learning and teaching practice, good learning and teaching practice

Dr Berenice Rivera Macias (berenice.riveramacias@anglia.ac.uk), Dr Jaki Lilly (jaki.lilly@anglia.ac.uk) Anglia Learning and Teaching

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Methodology The Good Teaching Project (GTP) was divided into three stages, for which we used a combination of qualitative research methods as follows:

Stage 1 Methods In Stage 1, we carried out 19 semi-structured interviews with learning and teaching advisors, Department Heads and Deputy Deans with responsibility for teaching quality to determine their perceptions in respect of:

The components of good teaching practice as contextualised within the various disciplines within each Department;

The ways in which good teaching is currently measured and how to measure it;

Existing and proposed support for newly appointed lecturers in developing their teaching practice;

Peer observation and mentoring schemes and how these can be developed to support teaching practice improvement.

At the end of each interview, the interviewees identified where good teaching practice was taking place in their Faculty and/or Department.

Since this is an internal evaluative project formal ethics clearance is not required; however, normal ethical practice of confidentiality and participant information was carried out.

Confidentiality was maintained since the interviews were only listened to by the interviewer. The interviews were summarised and partly transcribed, transcripts were offered to the participants and these were sent when requested. Part of the interview was transcribed for ease of administration. We transcribed the interviewees’ perceptions as to the components of good teaching practice and their nominations as to where good teaching practice was taking place.

Population and Sample The GTP’s main objective has been to identify where good teaching takes place across Anglia Ruskin University and to share this. Because we needed to identify those particular cases for a further in-depth investigation in Stage 2, we used two kinds of non-probability sampling techniques. We started with purposive sampling and this was organically followed by snowball sampling (Cousin, 2009; Neuman, 2011). Purposive sampling allowed us to select a population of Faculty/Department managers and learning support staff who share similar characteristics due to their day-to-day job responsibilities. This specific population was ideal because it has access to a range of sources for feedback on teaching quality i.e. NSS results, one-to-one meetings with staff and students and peer-observation. (Bryman, 2004, pp. 333-334; Cousin, 2009, p. 79; Neuman, 2011, pp. 267-268)

Initially, we sent an email invitation to the Deputy Deans, Heads of Department and learning and teaching advisors from the five Faculties. We received responses from four Faculties, which we followed up by sending individual email invitations for the interviews (see Table 1 below for the descriptors on the population and sample). Snowball sampling happened organically because on a couple of occasions Deputy Deans directed us towards contacting additional members of staff who we did not include in our initial participants’ list. In this case, the managers used their interconnections from their networks to increase the size of our population and sample (Neuman, 2011, pp. 268-269).

In total we interviewed nineteen participants from ten academic Departments within four Faculties. This meant that the sample consisted of 63 per cent of the total population. With regards to the academic Departments, we covered 66 per cent of the total population.

The interviews lasted between 30 and 60 minutes and were digitally recorded. Fifteen interviews were done face-to-face, and four interviews were done via video-conference to reduce the cost of travelling and time-consumption.

The interviewees provided a list of 65 instances of where they considered that good teaching practice was taking place in their Faculty and/or Department. However, it was particularly challenging to decide on which instances of good teaching practice to film in Stage 2 since, to a great extent, interviewees failed to

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Table 1. Population and Sample for Stage 1

distinguish between the components of good teaching practice and the personal attributes of a good teacher. In an attempt at clarification, we contacted the interviewees via email once more to request further clarification of the reasons for their nominations. Therefore, despite our efforts to take a systematic approach to the selection of nominees this was not always possible and thus nominees were selected for filming both on the basis of aspects of good teaching practice and personal attributes.

Stage 2 Methods In Stage 2 we established the list of nominees to be contacted. We initially considered contacting two to three nominees per Faculty. However, at their request, two Faculties were excluded due to other pressures.

The Deputy Deans of the two participating Faculties for Stage 2 agreed for us to contact the nominated staff directly and we emailed them independently. Unfortunately, due to the time of the academic year when we sent out the invitations for filming – late March 2011 – few active teaching sessions were taking place. However, some nominees confirmed their interest in being filmed in the forthcoming academic year.

We filmed two academic staff in early April 2011. Two other potential participants cancelled: one because students were going to be assessed in one of the proposed sessions, and on another occasion a lecturer was receiving a guest who did not want to be filmed.

The filming took place on the Cambridge campus. Participating staff and students agreed to be filmed on the basis of knowing that Anglia Learning and Teaching will use edited parts of the films for staff development purposes, making them also available online.

Analysis Our ongoing literature review identified a range of descriptors for good or effective teaching. For example, Ramsden (2003, pp. 93-99) develops six principles for effective teaching, which are listed as follows:

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.

Good teachers genuinely want students to learn, understand and develop critical thinking abilities, as well as master content or learn skills. In addition, they have personal characteristics (such as showing

Faculty Interviews / Invitations No. of Academic Departments represented

Nominations

A 5 / 7 (71.43% participation) 5 / 5 25

B 3 / 4 (75% participation) 2 / 2 10

C 3 / 5 (60% participation) 2 / 2 10

D 8 / 14 (57.14% participation) 3 / 6 20

Total 19 / 30 (63.33%) 10 / 15 (66.66%) 65

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enthusiasm for their subject, professional area and teaching role) as well as using appropriate humour and an attitude which suggests that learning is enjoyable (IML, 2007).

Our task, however, is to make explicit what the components of good teaching are, and how they can be adopted in practice. Using the literature and the feedback from our interviews, we identified the elements and components of good teaching practice by which we analysed our films of teaching practice (Table 2):

Table 2.

Good teaching practice is delivered by a practitioner who has the following personal attributes (Table 3):

Table 3.

Having analysed the films and selected clips, we gave the tutors a digital audio recorder and asked them to record their reflections as they watched the clips we selected. Through this reflective exercise, we aimed both to determine the implicit purposes, thoughts and objectives behind each teacher’s approach in the classroom and lecture theatre, and to triangulate our analysis.

Stage 3 The films, discussions and interview material are currently being consolidated into online resources which are hosted on the Anglia Learning and Teaching website.

In Conclusion We have completed the first part of the project and have identified the elements and components of good teaching practice, by which we can benchmark our teaching practice across Anglia Ruskin University.

The beta mini-site offers clips from two teaching sessions – one lecture and one seminar – which have been analytically split and edited according to the demonstrated teaching techniques and approaches. In addition, the video-clips include reflective voice-over comments from the teachers, the uninterrupted reflective recording from the teachers, and our own analysis. Through this medium we are beginning the process of making the elements and components of good teaching practice explicit in such a way as to allow the adoption of the techniques by others seeking to improve their teaching practice.

We are continuing to follow up our nominees to arrange filming of good teaching practice in the full range of contexts.

Elements Components Approach: Teaching is well prepared

Outcomes, content and assessment are constructively aligned Teaching is clearly linked with the curriculum Demonstrates evidence of reflective practice

Methods: Address different learning styles Are contextualised in students’ understanding and experience Engage with practice Promote independent learning Promote critical thought Promote deep learning

Scholarship: Teaching is informed by pedagogy Content is up-to-date with the subject and practice Content is informed by research and evidence

Element Components Personal attributes: Engaging

Enthusiastic Flexible / adaptable Tolerant Eager to learn Committed and respectful

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Selected References Anglia Learning and Teaching, 2011. Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy 2011-2014. Anglia Ruskin University. [Online] Available at: http://www.lta.anglia.ac.uk/assets/Uploads/Resources/LTAStrategy2011.pdf [Accessed December 2011].

Bryman, A., 2004. Social Research Methods. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Centre for Learning and Professional Development, 2011. Leap case studies: centre for learning and professional development, The University of Adelaide. [Online] Available at: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/clpd/resources/leap/case_studies/ [Accessed December 2011].

Cousin, G., 2009. Researching learning in Higher Education. An introduction to contemporary methods and approaches. London: Routledge.

Neuman, W.L., 2011. Social research methods. Qualitative and quantitative approaches. 7th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Ramsden, P., 2003. Learning to teach in higher education. 2nd ed. London: RoutledgeFalmer.

University of Hull: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, 2011. Good practice in learning and teaching. University of Hull. [Online] Available at: http://www2.hull.ac.uk/fass/good_practice.aspx [Accessed December 2011].

University of Technology, Sydney: Institute for Interactive Media Learning, 2011. Characteristics of good teaching. [Online] Available at: http://www.iml.uts.edu.au/learn-teach/goodteaching.html [Accessed December 2011].

The Good Teaching Project Report

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