This presentation looks at some key questions exploring current trends in teaching as a professional activity in higher education

1. Raj Dhimar
Teaching as a professional activity in
higher education

2. • Explore the challenges for teachers in current higher
education settings
• Draw on our understandings and interpretations of
teaching quality
• Using a self-management survey model by the
OECD to help explore how we might develop
excellent teachers from institutional perspectives
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Session outline

3. - Rapidly changing higher education context – move
towards pedagogical competencies for teachers
- Expectations of teachers – proficiency in a range of
multidisciplinary area
- Utilisation of corporate and public service expertise to
tackle increasing student and institutional demand –
however pedagogical expertise can be limited
- - Developing subject specific
experts as quality teachers
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Challenges for higher education teachers

4. 4
Challenges for institutions
Engagement in CPD
activities are related to the
quality of student learning
(not just about
qualifications, role or
status)
Making explicit connections
between CPD and
educational objectives of
provision
Reflecting on and aligning
CPD needs with the quality
of teaching and learning
and university values,
identity and expectations –
everybody involved

5.  HE teaching/lecturing one of few
professions in which people can
work with no requirement to have
any qualification or licence to
practice – although increasingly
universities do require staff new to
teaching to be trained.
 Students go to university to learn
- good teaching is integral to
effective learning.
 Those who have undertaken
training and professional
development in teaching are better
equipped to support and inspire
their students.
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Who is doing the teaching?

6.  Those who are trained have greater self
awareness of the subtle factors impacting the
learning environment such as psychology,
philosophy and sociology of learning.
 Professional development leading to
professional recognition provides a
benchmark for individuals and institutions,
and gives the general population and
students themselves confidence that they are
being supported by qualified, capable and
competent professionals.
 Research evidence in this area is limited for
HE though considerable evidence exists for
the positive impact on student learning from
qualified teachers in secondary education.
 Key that HE providers have autonomy to
develop and manage staff for their own
individual circumstances.
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Why are training and CPD important?

7. 7
Fostering quality teaching
Henard, F. and Roseveare, D. (2012)
At the institution-wide
level: including projects such
as policy design, and support
to organisation and internal
quality assurance systems.
Programme level:
comprising actions to
measure and enhance the
design, content and delivery
of the programmes within a
department or a school.
Individual level: including
initiatives that help teachers
achieve their mission,
encouraging them to innovate
and to support improvements
to student learning and adopt
a learner oriented focus.

8. 8
A centre for teaching and learning development
Professional development activities (e.g. in-service training for faculty)
Teaching excellence awards and competitions for remarkable
improvements
Teaching innovation funds, teaching recruitment criteria
Support to innovative pedagogy, communities of teaching and learning
practices
Learning environments (libraries, computing facilities…)
Organisation and management of teaching and learning
Support to foster student achievement (e.g. counselling, career advice,
mentoring…)
Students’ evaluation (i.e. programme ratings, evaluating learning
experiences)
Self-evaluation of experimentations, peer-reviewing, benchmarking of
practices
Community service and work-based programmes, development-based
programmes
Henard, F.
and
Roseveare,
D. (2012)

9. 9
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD), 2005

10. Self assessment questions
(exercise)
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Developing excellent teachers

11. 1. How is teaching anchored in the quality
culture of your institutions?
2. How are pedagogical competencies required
for quality teaching identified and articulated
in your institutions?
3. How are the pedagogical skills of staff
upgraded through professional
development?
4. How is inspiring teaching supported and
recognised?
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Developing teaching practice – group
visualisation – your context

12. Henard, F. and Roseveare, D. (2012), Fostering Quality
Teaching in Higher Education: Policies and Practices,
An IMHE Guide for Higher Education Institutions,
OECD, URL:
http://www.oecd.org/edu/imhe/QT%20policies%20and
%20practices.pdf
OECD (2005) Teachers Matter – Attracting, Developing
and Retaining Effective Teachers
Paris OECD links to summaries, full report and
multilingual versions
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References