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Support for this project has been provided by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council Ltd, an initiative of the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. The views expressed in this the resources produced for this project do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council.
The Teaching Quality Indicators Project responded to the need for an agreed approach to recognising and rewarding quality teaching and teachers in higher education.
A key aspect of recognising quality teaching is the development and implementation of agreed indicators and metrics in universities and across the Australian university sector.
Background
The project had two aims:
- To provide the Australian higher education sector with the opportunity to proactively engage with the issue of recognising and rewarding quality teaching and teachers, and to lead institutions and the sector in defining and developing indicators and outcomes of quality teaching.
- To contribute to enhancing the quality of teaching and teachers in institutions of higher education by providing tools and metrics to measure their performance and enable institutions to respond to issues identified by the evidence.
The project was carried out in two stages.
Stage 1: Reports and Teaching Quality Framework
- The aim of the first stage was to provide a comprehensive overview in terms of what is currently recognised as quality teaching at individual, institutional, national and international levels. A number of reports were written.
- The Teaching Quality Framework that was developed proposed indicators of quality teaching at four levels within universities.
Stage 2: Pilot University implementation
- Stage two involved eight pilot universities auditing and reviewing their teaching and learning practices, identifying one Teaching Quality dimension from the framework on which to focus and then implementing strategies to establish indicators at multiple levels throughout their university. The experiences and outcomes of the each of the universities are documented in eight pilot university project reports.
Dissemination
The dissemination strategy of the project was highly engaged with the Australian higher education sector throughout the duration of the project.
The national team sought and were invited to present on the project at individual universities and at forums and conferences within the Australian higher education sector and internationally. The pilot universities' dissemination activities are also provided in each project report.
The Project Leader was invited to discuss the project with the members of the senior executives and staff at the following universities:
- Charles Darwin University (2007)
- Deakin University (2007)
- Edith Cowan University (2008)
- Griffith University (2007)
- James Cook University (2007)
- La Trobe University (2009)
- Monash University (2007)
- University of New England (2008)
- University of Queensland (2007)
- University of Southern Queensland (2007).
A summary of the dissemination activities:
Evaluation
The two stages of the project were independently evaluated by David Sadler and Caroline Webb. The report concluded that a solid foundation had been laid for future work and that the experiences of the pilot universities provided a valuable resource of case studies and experiences of adopting a systematic and evidence-based approach to rewarding and recognising teaching and learning in Australian universities.
University information
CRICOS Code: 00126G
