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Content expertiseWankat and Oreovicz (1998) http://www.asee.org/prism/october/html/ october_teaching.htm note: "The hard part of teaching is not getting students to learn content; the hard part is getting them to learn how to learn and generate creative solutions. .... A truly good course covers necessary content, but most importantly offers educators the opportunity to teach students how to use that content to solve novel problems, develop innovative designs, think critically, and evaluate options." They suggest that teachers need to cover five types of information in class:
To go beyond these categories, they warn, risks falling prey to content tyranny. DesignTeachers are involved in educational design when they set objectives, plan teaching strategies and activities to facilitate the learning of their students, determine appropriate assessment of the students’ progress in achieving the objectives, check that all resources are appropriate in terms of their purpose as well as factors such as inclusivity, gender bias and internationalisation. Educational design can be both immediate, as in the case of preparing a lesson plan, and long-range, as when a unit or course is being designed. Support teachers in designing their teaching environment are educational designers or instructional designers. Development as a teacherIncidental learning on the job is a limited way to develop as a teacher. In Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher, Brookfield argues for the use of critical reflection as a tool for continuous personal and professional development. New insights into the theory and practice of teaching can be found in the works of writers such as Ramsden, Laurillard and Menges. Biggs gives invaluable insights into the nature of student learning. More structured opportunities for development (e.g. the Foundations of University Teaching and Learning programme at UWA) may be available centrally while a range of local teaching development activities may also occur across the university. EvaluationHow do teachers know that what they have aimed to achieve in their teaching has been achieved? Was the teaching, unit content, etc. appropriate for that particular type of teaching situation and the cohort of students? These are some of the fundamental questions that need to be answered if effective teaching is to take place. Evaluating teaching could include self-reflection, student feedback and peer feedback. One source of specialist help is available from the Evaluation of Teaching Unit http://www.csd.uwa.edu.au/spot/. Preparing and maintaining teaching portfolios or journals could help to recall what worked or didn’t work the last time a topic/unit was taught. Since there is no one ‘perfect’ approach to teaching, a number of strategies may need to be tried and tested. The continuous research and improvement of teaching is part of the scholarship of teaching. ImplementationWhat actually happens in any learning situation (be it face-to-face teaching or otherwise) is an important influence on student learning. The presentation of information and other activities associated with specific teaching and learning situations have been investigated, and there are many suggestions for effective teaching (see ‘Teaching Methods' section of the Resource Collection at http://www.csd.uwa.edu.au/resources/ and ‘Having an Interesting Presentation Style’ in the Berkeley Compendium at http://teaching.berkeley.edu/compendium/sectionlists/sect18.html). The elements in a good presentation include: capturing and maintaining student interest, logical sequencing, providing a holistic view and getting students to become actively involved. PreparationIsn’t preparation the key to good teaching? The teacher has a role in preparation relating to the following questions: Who is going to be in the class? What do they know already? What are the intended learning outcomes? How is the learning situation for the students to be arranged? What am I going to do? What teaching materials do I need? Preparation is about handouts, course outlines, assessment schedules, personal preparation to ‘present’, and familiarity with the technology and media appropriate to the learning situation. It may also be about getting technical support to assist in preparation and/or delivery of teaching material. Student SupportThe supportive role requires a mix of guidance, challenge and problem solving. Creating a supportive and effective learning environment is multi-facetted and includes setting expectations about what the learning will be, clarifying the level of participation required, discussing the approach to evaluation which will be used. The teacher has a role to play in motivating students to learn, nurturing the intrinsic motivation of some, while attempting to find the trigger to motivation in others. Problem-solving may include dealing with difficulties encountered in group projects or managing unhealthy group dynamics. Guidance may take forms such as assisting students to deal with anxieties about their learning and acting to increase their self-efficacy as learners. Being the person face-to-face with the student allows the teacher to spot when problems are brewing, be they related to learning or to other aspects of a student’s life. In all these facets, the teacher has the responsibility to judge if they are able to assist, or if the student needs referral to other specialists such as study skills experts or counsellors, as provided by Student Services http://www.studentservices.uwa.edu.au/.
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...supporting academics in their practice with the aim of enhancing the quality of the student learning experience...
