Developing and supporting the curriculum
Teaching in contemporary higher educationPerspectives on professional development in
Ireland
Maria Slowey
Director, Higher Education Research Centre (HERC)
Enhancement Theme Conference, Quality Assurance Agency for HE in Scotland
Edinburgh Napier University
27 February 2014
Universities on the island of Ireland
Institutes of Technology in Ireland
‘Glolocal’ drivers for change in higher education
Knowledge economy- human
capital perspective
Knowledge society- inclusion
perspective
Equity (widening access)
Economic crisis
Global drivers for change in higher education (contd)
 Also, implications of significant
demographic change
Enda Kenny, TD, Prime Minister of Ireland and DCU student at launch of Age Friendly
E
University, DCU November 2012
Dublin Region Higher Education Alliance
(supported by the Strategic Innovation Fund of the Higher Education Authority)
DRHEA:
Collaboration between active researchers and
students is one of the best channels for new
scholarly knowledge to be spread, contested and
advanced in the professional
community…Paradoxically, researchers are
expected to introduce the most complex research
findings to students who have much less
disciplinary knowledge, but in many settings
teachers are not offered adequate support to
develop such pedagogic competence. (European
Science Foundation 2011: 10)
Main objectives of survey of academic
staff in 8 HEIs in Dublin Region
-To ascertain views of academic staff in relation to teaching
innovation and changing student needs across DRHEA
institutions
-To elicit information about the current training and
development and, to identify main areas of interest for future
staff development in relation to enhancing learning
experience of students
-To inform directly the work plan for the Enhancement of
Learning Strand
-To raise awareness of DRHEA across partner institutions
Survey content
This study explores:
1) Academics’ perceptions of the contemporary
teaching environment in Irish HEIs (student
engagement, student diversity, technology)
2) Academics’ engagement with professional
development related to teaching
3) Perceptions of barriers to academics’ engagement
with professional development
4) Institutional and personal conceptions of the
teaching-research nexus.
Respondents’ current position
Current position
%
Professor
5
Associate Professor
5
Senior Lecturer
17
Lecturer
53
Junior/Associate Lecturer
7
Researcher
8
Other
5
Total
100
Academic disciplines grouped into three
categories
Academic Discipline
%
Social Sciences and Humanities
47
Medical and Health Sciences
14
Science and Technology
39
Total
100
Level of teaching
%
Undergraduate
Undergraduate
Taught postgraduate Taught postgraduate
and research
Research supervision
supervision
Combination of
Combination of
undergraduate and
undergraduate and
postgraduate
postgraduate
Continuing education
Total
42
12
4
40
2
100
Respondent profile IV: balance of current work interest
between teaching and research
Top 10 Priority areas for
professional development
Type of professional development activity
(%)
Innovative delivery methods
84
Access to research findings on teaching and learning in my discipline
84
Alternative assessment methods
Methods of obtaining useful feedback from students
Peer exchange on good practice
Connecting with others within my own discipline
Use of new technology
Inquiry and problem-based learning
80
80
78
77
77
75
Integrating research into undergraduate curriculum
73
Access to research findings on teaching and learning in general
73
Statements regarding respondents’ perceptions
on aspects of teaching in higher education
Disagree Neutral Agree
Level of classroom engagement by students has improved in recent
years
Student attendance levels are declining
Increased diversity of the student population has had a positive
impact on the classroom learning environment
Students are increasingly well prepared for third-level learning
I am teaching increasingly larger group sizes
I struggle to keep up with the use of technology demanded by
students
Teaching is more demanding than any other aspect of my academic
activities
My research informs my teaching
Teaching is a source of job satisfaction for me
Student evaluation of my teaching provides me with useful
feedback
37
26
37
28
22
50
10
32
58
71
17
12
18
23
59
67
16
17
39
19
42
5
2
7
6
88
92
7
10
83
Level of engagement with structured
professional development
Three year period prior to the survey
%
Participate regularly
27
Participate occasionally
49
No participation
24
Total
100
Top 5 Ranked areas of interest for professional
development by levels of recent engagement
Participate regularly
Area selected
Access to research
findings on teaching and
learning in my discipline
%
95
Participate occasionally
Area selected
%
Access to research
findings on teaching and 85
learning in my discipline
Not in previous 3 years
Area selected
%
Innovative delivery
methods
77
Access to research
findings on teaching
72
and learning in my
discipline
Methods of obtaining
useful feedback from 71
students
Innovative delivery
methods
94
Innovative delivery
methods
83
Alternative assessment
methods
92
Alternative assessment
methods
81
Peer exchange on good
practice
91
Methods of obtaining
useful feedback from
students
78
Peer exchange on
good practice
Access to research
findings on teaching and
learning in general
90
Peer exchange on good
practice
77
Inquiry and problem67
based learning
68
Open-ended question: ‘How would you promote
good teaching in higher education?’
Theme/subtheme
1. The provision of academic development
a. Format
b. Teaching and learning staff
c. Provision for new/postdoc/contract staff
d. Purpose of teaching and learning centres
References within data
60
33
10
10
7
2. Attitudes towards teaching
a. Teaching strategies
b. Where good teaching comes from
28
18
10
3. Institutional status of teaching
a. Institutional recognition of good teaching
b. Teaching award system
27
23
4
(Continued)
Theme/subtheme
4. Working conditions
a. Time
b. Student ability
c. Class sizes
d. Administrative duties
e. Physical resources
5. Unrelated
a. Survey design
b. “None” as response
References within data
39
17
10
5
4
3
11
8
3
A collaborative inter-institutional approach to
sharing best practice- some views
It would be nice to have a website in which lecturers in Irish
universities could exchange comments, news etc.
Promotion of joint programs between HEI's with
opportunities for staff exchanges to experience teaching
and learning in different environments, and networking
Establish a third level teaching portal wherein lecturers
may upload MP3 and MP4 materials for use on an intrainstitutional basis
Teaching and learning centres :
contrasting views
A context in which non-academics and institutions tell
us how to teach our own areas of expertise is just
farcical.
[The teaching and learning centre] have provided me
with excellent courses since I started seven years ago.
Teaching strategies: some views
All 3rd level lecturers should know the Principles & Practice
of Enquiry Based Learning, particularly PBL
Stop adopting top down measures which are alienating e.g
graduate attributes!
Current thinking on 'teaching and learning' as exemplified in
the Bologna process is based on a model which is about 50
years behind the times… [Good lectures] are events, not
commodities. The best way to promote good teaching is to
return to basic principles: to engage students with the
critical pursuit of knowledge.
Teaching strategies: some views (Cont.)
Good teaching is a product of basic teaching skills, common
sense and a mastery of one's field.
Some people are just good at teaching because they like it,
care about it and are good communicators.
Make teaching courses compulsory for all new entrants or for
anyone seeking promotion.
When only a minority of staff in a department have done such
courses and make proposals at staff meetings based on what they
have learned there is generally misunderstanding on the part of
other colleagues who feel that an attempt is being made to 'dumb
down' the approach to teaching.
The National Strategy for Higher Education in Ireland to
2030 (DES, 2011) focuses on student outcomes. It
draws attention to the importance of professional
development for academic staff, and recommends that
all higher education institutions:
…must ensure that all teaching and learning staff are
both qualified and competent in teaching and learning,
and should support ongoing development and
improvement of their skills (DES, 2011: 18).
Some implications of the survey for policy practice &
research
1) How much engagement in professional
development is ‘enough’?
2) Perspectives on the changing nature of the student
body.
3) Fostering a supportive climate for teaching in higher
education.
4) Working ‘with the grain’.
The challenges facing the academic
profession...
… depth and authority of his or her knowledge to
understanding of and skill in pedagogy, a field that has
formed no part of academic training and been regarded
with disdain by most academics. Alongside this, several
other types of orientation and knowledge have also come
to be seen as required by academics. They include
regarding preparation of students for the labour market as
part of their role, willingness to accommodate new modes
of educational provision (distance learning; work-based
learning) and, in some cases, incorporating understanding
of social, physical and psychological disadvantage into
their approach to teaching. (Henkel 2007 p. 201)
Voices of Academics in Irish Higher Education: Perspectives on
Professional Development
Maria Slowey and Ekaterina Kozina, with Eloise Tan
Launch date: 28 March 2014. Trinity College Dublin: AISHE (All Ireland
Society for Higher Education)
Full report will be available from April 2014 on open commons basis:
aishe.org