introduction to university teaching - orhep

Centre for Educational DevelopmentORHEP Project

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Approaches to University TeachingDr Sean Walton

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/



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An Introduction to University Teaching

• Theories of teaching.

• The HE Academy & university teaching

- areas (what does teaching involve).

- knowledge.

- values.



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Learning Outcomes

At the end of this section, you should have:

• Reflected on your own approach(es) to teaching, and begun to place this within overarching theories of teaching.



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What is University Teaching?

• Individually, describe on one post-it note what university teaching means to you.



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Some theories of teaching

Prosser & Trigwell: Approaches to Teaching

Inventory (ATI)

Lindblom-YlanneApproaches to Teaching

RamsdenThree Theories

of Teaching



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Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI)

• Prosser & Trigwell (1999).

• Draws from research into (science) lecturers’ conceptions of teaching.



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Line-up Activity

• In responding to each of the following questions from the ATI, think of a particular teaching context.

• You will be asked to position yourselves on a continuum from ‘almost always true for me in this context’ to ‘only rarely true for me’.



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• In this subject I concentrate on covering the

information that might be available from a good

textbook.

• We take time out in classes so that students can

discuss, among themselves, the difficulties that

they encounter studying this subject.

strategy



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• I feel a lot of teaching time in this subject should be used to question students’ ideas.

• I feel it is important to present a lot of facts in classes so that students know what they have to learn for this subject.

intention



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ATI and types of teaching

• ATI: 2 main approaches to teaching- Conceptual change/student focused

approach.- Information transmission/ teacher focused

approach.

• But note concern about validity of ATI as a research tool (Meyer & Eley, 2005).



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Approaches to Teaching(Sari Lindblom-Ylänne, U of Helsinki, e.g. Lindblom-Ylänne et al (2006); Postareff et al (2007))

• Content-focused approach to teaching

– focus on transmission of knowledge

– generally repeat traditional and familiar ways of teaching

• Learning-focused approach to teaching

– teaching to improve student learning

– emphasis on continuous enhancement of own teaching

• (also looking at how AtT are affected by disciplinary

and teaching context)



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Ramsden’s 3 Theories of Teaching Ramsden(2003)

1 Teaching as telling or transmission.- Transmission of authoritative content.

- Teacher as source of undistorted

information.

- Failure to learn is blamed on students.



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2 Teaching as organising student

activity- Focus on what the student does.

- Orchestrate teaching to generate

learning activity.

- But may be failure to fully integrate T&L

activity with students’ learning of

subject.



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3 Teaching as making learning possible.- T, L & subject linked in overarching system- Teacher’s focus is on identifying &

overcoming barriers to students’ learning- Teacher recognises knowledge of the

subject is constituted by the learner



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The HE Academy & University Teachers

• Areas of activity (what does teaching involve).

• Knowledge (what do we need to know to be effective).

• Values.



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Activity: areas, knowledge & values

In table groups discuss & produce a brief list of what YOU feel might constitute:

• The key activities of teaching in HE, or

• The core knowledge required by all HE teachers to be effective, or

• Professional values that should be shared by all HE teachers.



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HEA: The UK Professional Standards Framework

Please take a moment to consider the UKPSF

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ukpsf


http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ukpsf


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Areas of activity1. Design and plan learning activities and/or programmes of

study.

2. Teach and/or support learning.

3. Assess and give feedback to learners.

4. Develop effective learning environments and approaches to

student support and guidance.

5. Engage in continuing professional development in

subjects/disciplines and their pedagogy, incorporating

research, scholarship and the evaluation of professional

practices.



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Core Knowledge

1. The subject material.

2. Appropriate methods for teaching and learning in the subject area

and at the level of the academic programme.

3. How students learn, both generally and within their subject/

disciplinary area(s).

4. The use and value of appropriate learning technologies.

5. Methods for evaluating the effectiveness of teaching.

6. The implications of quality assurance and quality enhancement for

academic and professional practice with a particular focus on

teaching.



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Professional Values

1. Respect individual learners and diverse learning communities.

2. Promote participation in higher education and equality of

opportunity for learners.

3. Use evidence-informed approaches and the outcomes from

research, scholarship and continuing professional development.

4. V4 Acknowledge the wider context in which higher education

operates recognising the implications for professional practice.



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Specific ReferencesLindblom-Ylänne, S, Trigwell, K, Nevgi, A & Ashwin, P (2006). How approaches to

teaching are affected by discipline and teaching context, Studies in Higher

Education, 31 (3), 285-298.

Meyer, JHF & Eley, MG (2006) The approaches to teaching inventory: a critique of its

development and applicability, British Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 633-

649.

Postareff, L, Lindblom-Ylänne, S & Nevgi, A (2007). The effect of pedagogical training

on teaching in higher education, Teaching and Teacher Education, 23 (5) 557-571.

Prosser, M & Trigwell, K (1999) Understanding Learning and Teaching, Buckingham:

SRHE & Open University Press.

Ramsden, P (2003) Learning to Teach in Higher Education 2nd edition, London:

RoutledgeFalmer.
