Teaching Development
What is the essence of university teaching? At Macquarie we can be guided by our founding principles which place scholarly teaching and learning at the heart of the educational mission. The vitality of teaching and learning depends on the balance of scholarship across research, teaching and outreach, the whole spectrum of academic work described by Ernest Boyer (1990) - discovering, integrating, applying and sharing knowledge.
The Carrick Institute (subsequently known as the Australian Learning and Teaching Council and then the Office of Learning and Teaching) identifies five indicators for teaching excellence: motivating and inspiring students; reflecting a command of a field of study; fostering independent learning; respecting students as individuals; and participating in scholarly activities to enhance learning and teaching. How we teach is to some extent a function of what we believe teaching to be and authors such as Biggs (2003), Ramsden (2003) and Prosser and Trigwell (1999) have all identified various conceptions of teaching. These are broadly summarised below:
| Theory 1 Teaching as telling |
Theory 2 Teaching as organising |
Theory 3 Teaching as making learning possible |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Focus |
Teacher and content |
Teaching techniques |
Relationship between students and subject |
|
Strategy |
Transmit information |
Manage teaching process: transmit concepts |
Engage, challenge, imagine oneself as the student |
|
Actions |
Chiefly presentation |
Active learning, some organising activity |
Adapted to suit student understanding |
|
Reflection |
Unreflective |
Apply skills to improve teaching |
Teaching as a research like, scholarly process |
At Macquarie, we aspire to excellence by emphasising international experiences of learning, global engagement, ethical practice, social justice and student-centred learning. We practice scholarly teaching, which is characterised by critical thinking and analysis, ongoing reflection and review, intellectual integrity, academic freedom and collegiality.
Our goals for quality teaching practice include continual improvements in curriculum; fostering student engagement; supporting research-enhanced learning and teaching, recognising and rewarding excellence; promoting diversity, equity and international awareness; and supporting student learning.
References and Useful Links
- Macquarie's Academic Plan
- Boyer, Ernest. (1990). Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate. Princeton, NJ: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
- Ramsden, P. (2003). Learning to Teach in Higher Education. 2nd edition. London: Routledge.
- Australian Research Council (ARC)
- Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency
- Office of Learning and Teaching (previously the ALTC)
- Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)
- The Higher Education Conferences Worldwide web site lists Conferences in higher education and related fields world wide.
