‘Maintaining competence’: a grounded theory typology of approaches to teaching in higher education

Abstract

This paper presents a contingency theory of approaches to teaching in Higher Education adopted by university academics who teach heterogeneous student cohorts within a changing university context. The study is located within the substantive context of academics within Australian universities who teach within the broad field of management studies. Orthodox grounded theory is employed to generate a contingency typology comprised of four separate teaching approaches: Distancing, Adapting, Clarifying, and Relating. The model demonstrates how academics utilise a variety of teaching approaches to address their 'main concern', namely maintaining their professional competence within the context of a rapidly changing university landscape and significantly heterogeneous groups of students. We have labelled this process 'Maintaining Competence'. This model stresses the importance of the twin forces of structure and individual agency in determining teaching approaches. It emphasises the value of analysing what academics actually do in the classroom situation, rather than concentrating on normative assumptions of what they should do in terms of best practice.

Are We Asking the Right Questions?

“…Here the distinction is between activities focusing on improving or enhancing an instructor's individual teaching practice versus activities that engage faculty in teaching enhancement as a socially situated practice D'Eon, Overgaard, & Rutledge, 2000;Gregory & Jones, 2009;McAlpine, Weston, Timmermans, Berthiaume, & Fairbank-Roch, 2006). Here the distinction is between activities focusing on improving or enhancing an instructor's individual teaching practice versus activities that engage faculty in teaching enhancement as a socially situated practice D'Eon, Overgaard, & Rutledge, 2000;Gregory & Jones, 2009;McAlpine, Weston, Timmermans, Berthiaume, & Fairbank-Roch, 2006).…”

Culture Shock and Higher Education Performance: Implications for Teaching

“…It also allows continuous assessments to take place and to provide second chances for students to improve (Slee, 2010). This also gives the tutor time to explore what skills international students bring with them and what expectations they may have (McLean and Ransom, 2008) by allowing strategies that utilise the experience and knowledge of students to be developed (Egege and Kutieleh, 2004; Gregory and Jones, 2009). If this is done, the second semester can take more of the traditional ‘M’ (Masterliness) level.…”

Case study as an accelerator of knowledge transmission and of the development of the knowledge-based economies

“…Case study zorientowane jest na studenta, ponieważ zachęca studentów do przemyśleń na temat tego, czego się dotychczas uczyli (Gregory, Jones, 2009). Nauczanie przy wykorzystaniu tej metody ma wymiar w większej mierze praktyczny, a nie teoretyczny, ponieważ bazuje na realnym problemie biznesowym.…”