by SALLY PATFIELD, JENNY GORE, ELENA PRIETO,
LEANNE FRAY and KRISTINA SINCOCK
Universities are increasingly scrutinised for the quality of teaching they deliver and the “job-readiness” of the graduates they produce. But universities mostly promote and address “quality teaching” in ways that don’t really get at the heart of what good teaching is, relying instead on student evaluations, teaching awards or academic development programs that only impart information about policy, logistics, and course management.
The Higher Education Standards Framework mandates that academics not only have relevant disciplinary knowledge but also skills in contemporary teaching, learning and assessment.
Generally, most academics have no background in teaching. While some universities offer short induction programs for new starters or the more intensive Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching, an emphasis on the pragmatics of teaching often leaves genuine instructional improvement on the sidelines.
Our recent study trialled an evidence-based pedagogical framework, the Quality Teaching Model (QT Model), to enhance conceptual understanding of quality teaching in the academy. The QT Model has been used for decades in K-12 school settings, backed by robust evidence demonstrating positive effects for teachers and students.
Building on our initial findings reported last year, this innovative study has recently been published in The International Journal for Academic Development, establishing proof of concept of the value of the QT Model in higher education.
Participants reported many immediate benefits of engagement with the QT Model, including in relation to analysing practice, course planning, collegial collaboration and improving the student experience. Crucially, the conceptual structure of the QT Model, its language and specification of good practice, helped academics produce fresh insights about what constitutes quality.
The University of Newcastle is now championing this approach, with a self-paced, on-line professional development course. The offering supports self-reflection, course and assessment design, peer review of teaching and the work of communities of practice through Quality Teaching Rounds, whereby academics observe, analyse and discuss practice with peers.
To date, more than 200 staff members across disciplines and academic levels have enrolled in the course. Evaluations are extremely favourable, with 98 per cent of participants indicating the course will positively impact their teaching and 96 per cent indicating it will have a positive effect on student outcomes.
This work demonstrates why pedagogy-focused academic development must move to the forefront of ‘quality teaching’ in the academy and, importantly, how this might occur.
Dr Sally Patfield, Senior Research Fellow, Teachers and Teaching Research Centre, School of Education, College of Human and Social Futures, University of Newcastle [email protected] @SallyPatfield
Laureate Professor Jenny Gore, Director, Teachers and Teaching Research Centre, School of Education, College of Human and Social Futures, University of Newcastle [email protected] @Jennygore4
Associate Professor Elena Prieto, Teachers and Teaching Research Centre, School of Education, College of Human and Social Futures, University of Newcastle [email protected]
Dr Leanne Fray, Senior Research Fellow, Teachers and Teaching Research Centre, School of Education, College of Human and Social Futures, University of Newcastle [email protected] @LeanneFray
Dr Kristina Sincock, Project Manager, Teachers and Teaching Research Centre, School of Education, College of Human and Social Futures, University of Newcastle [email protected]