Striving for teaching excellence beyond the UK: what can we learn from middle and northern Europe

1. Striving for teaching excellence
beyond the UK: what can we learn
from middle and northern Europe
Diane Nutt and Jayne Tidd
Nutt&Tidd May17

2. Session outcomes
By the end of this session, delegates should be able to:
• Draw on an increased understanding of differences and similarities in
educational development practices in HE across middle and northern
Europe
• Draw on an increased knowledge of institutional approaches to
‘teaching excellence’ in a wider European context
• Discuss HE ‘teaching excellence’ as a concept beyond the UK context
• Use examples of educational development from middle and northern
European institutions in their own settings.
Nutt&Tidd May17

3. Session outline
• The research project
• Educational development vignettes – comparing practice
• Notions of 'teaching excellence' in educational development in a
middle and northern European context
• Institutional approaches to 'teaching excellence'
• Measuring teaching excellence in these examples?
• Conclusion and final thoughts
Nutt&Tidd May17

4. The project
Method
• Survey with institutions across
middle and Northern Europe
• Access to documentary materials
from some institutions
• Literature review
• Skype case study interviews with 2
members of staff (educational developer and
academic who has participated in edD) from 5
European countries (from survey sample)
Partially funded by a SEDA Small Grant 2016-17
Themes
• Exploring 'professional recognition' in
different contexts
• Identifying examples of staff
development for those who teach
first year students and students in
transition
• Exploring notions of ‘teaching
excellence' in teaching development
in middle and northern Europe
• Learning from good practice
Nutt&Tidd May17

5. 'Professional growth is kept up by constant reflection and
reassessment, through which the individual builds her/his role, fixes
goals for changing situations in their career, recognises the necessary
development challenges and constructs alternative practices.’
(Korhonen and Törmä, 2014:79)
‘There is a lack of sophistication in conceptualisation of university
teaching excellence both generally but more particularly in terms of
changing expectations and roles over an academic career’ (Gunn and
Fisk, 2013:6)
Nutt&Tidd May17

6. Definitions from Gunn and Fisk (2013:19)
• ‘Teaching excellence – overall system-wide conceptions of excellence
(with the systems relating to sector, institutions and disciplines)
• Teacher excellence – conceptions of excellence related to individual
philosophies and practices that are rewarded and recognised as
excellent teaching
• Excellent learning – qualitatively higher levels of understanding and
meaning making from forms of abstract, contextual, and situational
knowledge intrinsically linked to both the disciplines studied and the
environments in which they are studied’
Nutt&Tidd May17

7. Comparing educational development practice
In groups of 3-4
Discuss the vignettes provided:
- consider similarities and
differences to your practice &context?
- discuss examples of good practice
from your own context?
- are there implicit or explicit
notions of 'excellence' in these examples,
or in the examples you are sharing?
Nutt&Tidd May17

8. Language of teaching and teacher excellence
among practitioners
• Outstanding
• Innovative
• 'State-of-the-art insights'
• Out of the box
• 'I wouldn't have thought of that'
• Transformative impact on learners and on
teachers
• ‘Hard to define but you know it when you
see it’
• Differentiated from the 'norm'
• An excellent HE teacher is ‘extremely
knowledgeable and engaging’ Nutt&Tidd May17

9. Lecturers
• ‘the daily interaction with students is important
to me rather than getting an “award”’ (Associate
Professor, Country 1 -has been nominated by students
for a ‘teaching award’)
• An excellent teacher = ‘it starts from ..you have
to be very knowledgeable in the topic area you
are teaching, a teacher needs to be very clear
and have some humour and good contacts to
the students so it gets more into this discussion
orientated atmosphere, approachable by the
students, not some distant figure .. Its not just
one or two things, its a whole lot of things that
together make this kind of good teacher in
universities’ Associate Professor Country 2
• ‘The best teachers don’t get any special
recognition’ Associate Prof Country 2
Educational Developers
• [Teaching excellence is about] ‘the
scholarship of teaching and learning ...
As you would do as a researcher:
constant experimenting, improving,
reflecting and maybe also writing about
it’ Educational Developer Country 1
• ‘what are the merits that leads you
forward in your career development ? ...
Are the teaching skills important? These
are the discussions we are having’
Educational Developer Country 2
Nutt&Tidd May17

10. Institutional approaches to developing ‘teaching excellence'
The Norwegian education minister promised in 2016 that
improvements to the quality of teaching at universities would be ‘
a cornerstone of the governments education programme’, he also
highlighted the importance of ‘engaging and varied teaching
methods’ and suggested it is ‘a clear responsibility of the
leadership in our institutions’ (Myklebust, 2016)
University of Helsinki Teachers' Academy as an institutional
approach to raising practice across the institution, and potentially
aligning teaching recognition with research recognition? (Pyörälä
et al. 2015)
Swedish universities require all new lecturers to have a teaching
qualification, and a number of institutions have developed next
step development and promotion opportunities for rewarding
teaching aligned with research
Utrecht University (Grunefeld et al, 2015) leadership for
educational change programme ‘state-of-the-art insights in
education and in change processes’ (p.307)
Nutt&Tidd May17

11. HE Sector international perspective
‘European award for excellence in teaching in
the Social Sciences and Humanities ‘
https://ctl.ceu.edu/teaching-award
‘outstanding overall teaching record + exemplary
experience in one or more of these practices:
• Applying innovative teaching methods
• Combining theory and practice, relevance and scholarly
excellence
• Using research elements to achieve excellence in teaching
• Applying problem-based/problem-oriented teaching
• Achievements in encouragement of critical thinking
• Sustained commitment to teaching excellence, rather than
one-off achievements
• Applications from candidates working with students from
less affluent or disadvantaged backgrounds are
particularly welcome ‘
‘Global teaching excellence award’
https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/higher-education-
academys-global-teaching-excellence-award
Celebrates institutional commitment
to the pursuit of teaching and
learning excellence
• ‘Excellence in the leadership of teaching and
learning’ ... ‘which articulates the vision and
embeds it throughout the institutions policies
and practices’
• ‘Excellence in teaching’ ...’motivates and inspires
students to learn, encourages them to engage
actively ... And fosters independent learning and
critical thinking’
• ‘Excellence in student support’ ... ‘Rooted in the
respect and support for the development of
students as individuals’
Nutt&Tidd May17

12. But what about measuring these notions of
excellence?
Back in small groups
How might you measure the
'excellence' identified? Either in
the vignette examples, or in the
institutional positions.
If you can't measure it, what
should we be doing instead?!
Nutt&Tidd May17

13. Final thoughts or questions
• Is educational development across middle and northern Europe caught
between supporting good practice and promoting teaching excellence?
• Is aligning teaching recognition and reward with research recognition and
reward the answer? Or not?
• Excellence in relation to teaching seems to translated into notions of ‘good
practice’; at least for some respondents in this study.
• Excellent individuals are now recognised in a number of settings – is this a good
thing or not? Does it raise the bar?
• Should we be striving for institutional excellence rather than individual
excellence? Or just for better, more consistent practice for both individuals and
institutions?
• National priorities across Europe appear to be creating some push, but are
producing quite varied responses – are we really going to see excellent learning
experiences as a result?
Nutt&Tidd May17

14. References
• Fielden, J. (1998) Higher Education Staff Development: a continuing mission, UNESCO thematic
paper ED-98/CONF.202/11 Paris, August 1998
• Grunefeld, et al.. (2015) Design and effect of an academic development programme on
leadership for educational change, International Journal for Academic Development, 20:4, 306-
318
• Gunn, V. and Fisk, A. (2013) Considering teaching excellence in higher education 2007-2013, York:
Higher Education Academy
• Korhonen, V and Törmä, S. (2014) Engagement with a teaching career – how a group of Finnish
university teachers experience teacher identity and professional growth, Journal of Further and
Higher Education, 40:1, 65-82,
• Mykelbust, J.P. (2016) Improving teaching quality moves to top of agenda, in University World
News, Issue 00396, 14 January 2016
• Pyörälä, E., et al. (2015) Significant networks and meaningful conversations observed in the first
round applicants for the Teachers’ Academy at a research intensive university, International
Journal for Academic Development, 20:2, 150-162
• Pleschova et al. (2012) The professionalisation of academics as teachers in higher education,
(Social Science Position Paper) Strasbourg, France: European Science Foundation
• Rienties, B and Hosein, A. (2015) Unpacking (in)formal learning in an academic development
programme: a mixed-method social network perspective, International Journal for Academic
Development, 20:2, 163-177
Nutt&Tidd May17

15. Thank you
Diane and Jayne
Jayne Tidd jayne.tidd@tees.ac.uk
Diane Nutt dianenutt@outlook.com
Nutt&Tidd May17