Using Your Research in Your Teaching

Some academics are in the fortunate position of teaching right in the area of their research. They are able to bring to class regular updates of how the research is going. They can give, as references, their own publications. They can truly share the joy of discovery with their students, almost as it happens. Others face a more difficult challenge. The research is on a completely different topic. The research is of a far more complex nature than would allow it to be included in their teaching. The research is of a confidential nature. The research is just not going well, perhaps not going anywhere at the moment. Perhaps they are not actually doing any at the moment.

Could academics in that first class (lecture, tutorial or lab) when introducing themselves and greeting their students, present themselves as both a teacher and a researcher, outlining their current research, its aims, focus, challenges, duration and potential? While the research is often complex, sometimes the question can be expressed simply. Sharing the question, "What I'm trying to find out is..." allows students in a small way to share in the challenge of the inquiry. Such an introduction might give students a better sense of what it means to be an academic in a research-intensive university. The research side of an academic's work is new and unknown to most students. First years in particular have often come from a situation where their school teachers' role was to teach rather than research.

Time is precious and the curriculum full, but a little regular time allocated in the course for five-minute research updates could add to students' understanding of the process of research. What about a five-minute, fortnightly 'research update' timeslot? This could be used to highlight the small-scale successes or failures since the last update. The treatment may, of necessity, need to be superficial but despite this it could provide most valuable insights to the students. It may be the only modelling of a researcher that they have a chance to see. Research to many students is always something that has happened, never something that is happening.

When looking to use your research in your teaching, would a focus on the process rather than the content provide opportunities hitherto unrecognised? Isn't research, after all, much more than just the results?