What Can We Learn About Teaching From Our Best University Teachers?

Abstract

Although there has been a growing literature which explores the thinking of teachers at the school level, no such parallel literature exists for university teachers. In this paper, interviews with four academics who received awards for 'excellent teaching' are used to explore the way these university teachers view their teaching. The themes which emerged include: a clear sense of what they were on about at teachers and a willingness to manipulate the learning environment accordingly; an emphasis on student learning and the importance of students learning the subject matter; an enjoyment of teaching; and a lack of perceived constraints to change their teaching and experiment with new ideas.

Students and Faculty Perspective of a Good Medical Teacher in the Asian Context

“…Excellent clinical teachers know the general principles of teaching, have good clinical knowledge and are able to relate to the student at their educational level in the context of the patient and the practice of medicine [3]. Good teachers also enjoy teaching and are open to manipulating the environment or experimenting with new ideas to enhance the learning of their students [4]. The role of a teacher has expanded and further defined by Harden and Crosby [2], which of these roles in isolation or in combination are important in defining a good teacher is however not clear.…”

Medical teachers' professional development – perceived barriers and opportunities

“…Contextual aspects that some teachers considered to be barriers were considered by others to be an opportunity, and some teachers were more decisive than others regarding developing their teaching and kept challenging themselves. These different ways of understanding as reflected by the respondents are influenced by the teachers' discipline, their Teaching and Learning Regime and their communities of practice (Johnston, 1996, Lindblom-Ylänne et al, 2006, Neumann, 2001, Trowler, 2009, Becher, 1994, Trowler and Cooper, 2002. Teacher's personal agency moderate the effect of the surrounding Teaching and Learning Regimes and community in the way teachers understand teaching (Fanghanel, 2007).…”

Telling Half the Story: A Critical Review of Research on the Teaching Beliefs and Practices of University Academics

“…A few studies used repertory grid interviews (Brown, Bell, & McDowell, 1995;Hillier, 1998), and one was a self-study (Gibson, 1998). Some of the researchers extended their findings to explain teacher practice, although their reports reveal that they only investigated teachers' espoused theories of action (Andrews et al, 1996;Ballantyne et al, 1999;Dall'Alba, 1991Fox, 1983;Gow & Kember, 1993;Gow et al, 1992;Johnston, 1996;Kember & Kwan, 2000;Kember, Kwan, & Ledesma, 2001;Menges & Rando, 1989;Pratt, 1992;Samuelowicz & Bain, 2001;Singer, 1996;Trigwell & Prosser, 1996a). While these studies claim to shed light on teaching practice in tertiary settings, they reveal teachers' espoused theories only and so, in our view, tell only half the story.…”

“…In the section of their article that addressed limitations of the study, Andrews et al (1996) acknowledged that "a third limitation of this study is that in classroom observations of the teachinglearning process were not conducted" (p. 101). Johnston (1996) interviewed four award-winning university teachers to examine their views on teaching. She noted that areas of research inquiry such as "how the teacher understands his or her own teaching" (espoused theories of action) and "how that understanding influences his or her teaching practice" (theories-in-use) were central to the field (p. 214).…”